Proactive Investors - National Express was upgraded to a ‘hold’ from 'sell' by analysts at Liberum, which believe the stock is now more “adequately priced”.
A target price of 115p remained unchanged.
Liberum still harbours concerns about the coach operator's high underlying leverage (borrowings), slow pace of debt reduction and negative earnings momentum.
The chief concern is the high level of leverage, which National Express flagged as 1.5 to two times higher than its target range until 2025.
However, the broker believes the real figure to be significantly higher and should include a £500mln hybrid security as a debt from an equity investor's perspective.
The analysts said they see long-term growth potential in public transport operators, with decarbonisation the “key thematic driver.”
Transport is the largest sectoral source of greenhouse emissions, the broker said, and if governments remain serious about tackling decarbonisation, the biggest opportunity is to tackle private car use.