Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's share price continued to rise on Thursday morning on the Paris Bourse, following a sharp rise in the share price in the first half of the day, boosted by a recommendation upgrade from analysts at Citi.

In a note released on Wednesday, the US investment bank said it had upgraded its recommendation on the retail property group's share to 'buy' from 'neutral', with a price target raised from 52.5 to 85.2 euros.

In its view, the shopping center operator has entered a "new phase", marked by the prospect of an improvement in rental activity and lower interest rates likely to boost growth in 2025.

In Citi's view, the stock should benefit not only from the strengthening market, which should enable URW to deleverage, but also from stable earnings, a factor which, in its view, should pave the way for a tripling of the newly relaunched dividend.

While he points out that the stock is currently trading within its historical average valuation range, the American firm believes that the absence of a recession and the growing scenario of a soft landing could justify a share price above 100 euros.

After gaining more than 1.5% yesterday following these comments, URW shares were up a further 0.5% today.

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