RELX PLC (LON:REL) has been upgraded to ‘neutral’ from ‘sell’ by analysts at UBS as the Swiss bank said the information analytics and events firm was “less exposed to coronavirus than most”.
In a note on Thursday which also upped the firm’s target price to 1,900p from 1,825p, UBS said it believed the majority of RELX’s businesses were “not highly exposed to the effects of the coronavirus outbreak”, with the notable exception of its Reed Exhibitions division.
READ: RELX downgraded to ‘hold’ as Berenberg struggles to see ‘meaningful upside’ after share price surge
“We think RELX shares should perform well in a world of perceived macro risk, given 84% of revenues are non-cyclical”, UBS said, adding that the group’s legal information division was delivering “improving data” with growth in demand for billable hours in the US.
While the bank said it was “cautious long term” about the company’s scientific, technical & medical and risk & business analytics divisions, they were “not expecting catalysts that will slow revenue growth rates in 2020”.
RELX shares were down 2.3% at 1,889p in early afternoon trading.