STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Mid-cap Rotork gets Berenberg upgrade boost

Shares in British Engineering company Rotork Plc (LSE: ROR.L - news) rise as much as 4.3 percent after Berenberg says the company will gain from its exposure to the oil and gas sector in the United States and upgrades its rating on the stock to "buy".

"Rotork's strength lies in being end-customer-specified in many of its applications, which means it does not have to compete on EPC tenders for new projects," Berenberg analysts, Alexander Virgo and Margaret Paxton write in a note to clients.

The analysts say Rotork shares - down 16 percent since the beginning of the year - offer a rare buying opportunity, and raise their target price to 2,665 pence from 2,640 pence.

Rotork, which supplies electric and pneumatic actuators to the entire oil and gas value chain, gets more than half its revenue from the oil and gas sector.

"I think it is the Berenberg upgrade plus technical balance as well because it (Rotork stock) sold off quite heavily in recent days, so it was due to balance at some point," Espirito Santo Investment Bank analyst, Matthew Spurr says.

Shares in Rotork are trading at 2,445 pence at 1135 GMT on the London Stock Exchange on Friday.

Reuters messaging rm://tasim.zahid.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net