Deutsche Bank has upgraded IG Group Holdings Plc's (LSE:IGG) target price to 1350p following a robust full-year performance that saw revenue rise 9% for the year, including 8% organic growth.
Trading revenue jumped 12%, buoyed by supportive market conditions, while net interest income fell 7% due to lower rates. Profit before tax reached £536 million, up 17% year on year and beating consensus by 2.5%.
A margin boost to 49.8%, up 3.6 percentage points, was driven by cost efficiencies, with operating expenses up only 2% and organic fixed costs per customer down 7%.
Management also revealed positive operational strides, delivering on last year’s CEO plan and reporting encouraging key performance indicators.
Notably, IG saw growth for the first time in four years in both active customers, up 5% organically excluding Freetrade, and first trades, which surged 19%.
Exchange Traded Derivatives, particularly through the Tastytrade platform, remain the engine of growth, with actives climbing 12% and first trades up 37%, primarily driven by the US and UK divisions.
With strong financials and operational momentum, IG’s upgraded target reflects confidence in the group’s trajectory.
The shares, currently trading at 1137p, look poised to benefit from continued progress across its diversified business lines.
Deutsche rates the stock 'buy'.