Top of the Street: Nexans, Standard Life, CVC Capital Partners

A round-up of notable broker activity this morning from Europe's top-ranked* analysts:

** Jefferies upgrades French cable maker Nexans NEXS.PA to "buy" from "hold", expecting the company to report better growth at Q3 results thanks to strong demand in the Grids unit in a tight market, with buoyant demand for higher-margin accessories

** RBC raises British pension savings group Standard Life SDLF.L to "outperform" as a recent decrease in share price creates a better entry level

INITIATIONS AND REINSTATEMENTS

** Morgan Stanley initiates coverage of private equity firm CVC Capital Partners CVC.AS at "overweight" with an €18 target price, saying it is well placed to capture growth above its global peer average

(*Analyst rankings from Thomson Reuters StarMine. The scale is from 1-star to 5-star with 5 being the best. Analysts are ranked on earnings accuracy as well as relative performance of recommendations over trailing 12-month & 24-month periods.)