Shore Capital upgrades Intertek to 'hold' after recent sell-off

(Sharecast News) - Shore Capital has upgraded its rating on Intertek from 'sell' to 'hold' following a big fall in the share price of the testing services firm over the past month. As of Monday's close, shares had fallen around 20% since the release of Intertek's full-year results on 4 March, with the selling pressure intensifying over the past few days following the announcement of Donald Trump's sweeping trade tariffs.

"FY24A results were solid in our view, with our 'sell' recommendation reflecting our view of fair value and that future competition and margin sensitivities were not reflected," said analyst Robin Speakman.

"With the recent pull-back, we assess the immediate likely economic impacts on Intertek and reduce our forecasts. Our fair value falls from 4,600p to 4,500p, equating to 5% upside to the current share price."

Speakman said that Intertek - like all of its peers in the assurance, testing, inspection and certification (ATIC) sector - is "at the forefront of trade", with headwinds likely to remain a challenge across 2025 and into 2026.

"Beyond the medium-term, however, trade rules and compliance requirements will become re-established (likely stronger and more complex bilaterally), and this is likely to provide opportunities to our minds [...] ATIC service provision remains essential to the functioning of economies, and we continue to regard Intertek's operations accordingly in the long-term," the analyst said.

Intertek was trading 1.8% higher at 4,280p by 1358 GMT.