FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Shares in defense companies trended weaker on Thursday. The chart picture of Renk in particular clouded over considerably. At 26.82 euros, the shares of the specialist for drive technology are now 32.5 percent below their record from the beginning of the month.

A few days ago, analyst David Perry from JPMorgan started with a "hold" rating for the shares, despite his positive opinion, because he initially saw little scope for valuation. In the meantime, however, his price target of 32.50 euros has been significantly undercut.

At Rheinmetall, meanwhile, Perry strongly advised on Thursday afternoon, following preliminary signals from the group for the first quarter, to use every setback to buy. An apparently poor start to the year is completely irrelevant for the good prospects that have been in place for many years. Rheinmetall is currently a good 12 percent below its record. The electronics specialist Hensoldt is down almost 20 percent. Most recently, Rheinmetall and Hensoldt both fell by around four and a half percent.

In his Renk study, Perry also referred to the potential of the Italian Leonardo and the British Babcock International. Both stocks are still well below their record levels of many years ago./ag/ajx/jha/