Informa PLC (LSE:INF) has been upgraded to 'buy' by Citi after easing tensions in the Middle East prompted analysts to become more optimistic about the events group's growth prospects.
The US investment bank raised its target price on the FTSE 100 company to 990p from 850p, arguing that concerns over disruption to exhibitions and conferences in the region had diminished following recent diplomatic developments.
The move came after the UK government withdrew advice against travel to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, following this week's memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran aimed at ending the conflict in the Middle East.
Analyst Conor Dwyer said the change in travel guidance was likely to be followed by other governments and removed a key uncertainty hanging over Informa's events business in the region.
The analyst had previously identified official travel warnings as a potential risk to scheduled events across the company's India, Middle East and Africa division.
With that overhang easing, Citi said investors were likely to focus increasingly on earnings growth expected in the 2027 financial year, following a solid recent update.
According to Visible Alpha consensus forecasts, adjusted earnings per share are expected to increase by 16% next year.
Dwyer argued that Informa's "attractive growth profile", combined with a valuation of around 13 times forecast 2027 earnings, "is a better setup for the shares to outperform".
