DB ups Henkel to "hold" on lack of near-term negative catalyst

** Deutsche Bank upgrades its rating for German consumer goods firm Henkel HEN to "hold" from "sell", as it sees no near-term negative catalyst

** The broker flags Henkel's stock price, which has fallen by 2.1% year-to-date compared to the MSCI Europe being up by 4%

** "Over the last 12months the stock is down by 5.0% against the market up 6.5%. this is despite an almost 15% EPS outperformance.", DB adds

** Deutsche Bank flags however worries over gross margin headwinds in Adhesives, especially in H2 and expects manufacturing strength to be short lived

** Furthermore, it notes considerable need for investment and improved innovation in the firm's Consumer Brands, as well as a risk of overpayment for large M&A deals

** Out of 24 analysts that cover Henkel AG & Co KGaA, five rate the stock "strong buy" or "buy,"​ 15 "hold" and four rate the stock "strong sell" or "sell"