Rheinmetall Analysts Retreat After Guidance Cut, but Papperger Puts €702,780 Behind the Stock
Published on 11/09/2026 at 06:11 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Two of Europe's more influential defence analysts moved to the sidelines on Rheinmetall Friday, hours after the German group confirmed a trimmed outlook and its chief executive disclosed fresh share purchases.
Bernstein Research cut the stock to "Market-Perform" from "Outperform," pulling its price target down to EUR 1,000 from EUR 1,200. Oddo BHF followed with a downgrade to "Neutral" from "Outperform," slashing its target to EUR 1,200 from EUR 1,670. Both moves were reported by media outlets Friday.
The shares slipped 1.4% on the day, closing at EUR 818.00 — still below both revised targets.
Guidance Trimmed Midweek
The downgrades trace back to Wednesday, when Rheinmetall lowered its 2026 revenue forecast to roughly EUR 13.2 billion, against a prior range of EUR 13.7–14.2 billion. The expected operating margin was also reduced, to around 18.5% from approximately 19%.
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Management blamed the shortfall on likely delays to the Bundeswehr's Arminius programme — the Boxer-based project — and on slower acceptance of artillery ammunition lots. Revenue and advance payments tied to those orders will partly slip into 2027, the company said.
The revised guidance was confirmed alongside Thursday's results release.
Nine-Month Growth Still Robust
For the first nine months of 2026, Rheinmetall posted group revenue of EUR 8.38 billion, up 38% year on year. Operating profit topped EUR 1.3 billion, translating to an operating margin of 16.0%.
Insider Buying in Two Tranches
Even as the analysts turned cautious, Rheinmetall disclosed that CEO Armin Papperger bought stock in two separately reported transactions. A Friday mandatory filing logged a purchase worth EUR 502,484.40 executed on Thursday — after the guidance adjustment and ahead of the capital markets day scheduled for 27 November 2026. A second Friday filing documented further purchases with an aggregate value of EUR 200,295.60, bringing his combined outlay to EUR 702,780.
Rheinmetall at a turning point? This analysis reveals what investors need to know now.
The insider buying and the results publication did not prevent the stock from recording another daily loss.
Rheinmetall has announced its capital markets day for 26–27 November 2026, its next scheduled exchange with investors.
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