Anglo Irish Bank rating raised

Anglo Irish Bank has had its rating raised by Merrill Lynch, which said recent declines had left the stock inexpensive.

The shares rose 3.3% on the upgrade.

Anglo was raised to Buy from Neutral by Stephen Andrews, an analyst at Merrill Lynch in London.

Mr Andrews raised his 12-month share price forecast for the Dublin-based lender to €15.8 a share, 32% more than the bank’s price on Monday. That compares with a gap of 28% for European banks overall, he said.