STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Siemens rises on JP Morgan, Merrill upgrades

Shares in Siemens rise to the top of Germany's blue-chip DAX index in early trade after both JP Morgan (Other OTC: JPYYL - news) and Bank of America Merrill Lynch raise their recommendations on the stock ahead of the engineering group's strategy update on May 8.

Siemens' shares are up by 3.1 percent to 93.44 euros, with the stock adding the most points to the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index, which is up by 0.4 percent.

JP Morgan upgrades the stock to "overweight" from "neutral", with an unchanged target price of 102 euros, saying it sees potential for the company's shares to rise from Siemens' forthcoming strategy update.

"The stock has been out of focus with little communication from the company over the past three months and we note that investor interest had waned. We expect this to change," the brokerage writes in a research note.

BofA Merrill Lynch also lifts the stock to "buy" from "neutral" and keeps its price objective at 106 euros, citing the strategy update as well as growth opportunities in automation, Siemens' share buyback and its strong balance sheet.

Reuters messaging rm://maria.sheahan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net