STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Admiral up; broker ups to "buy"

Shares in Admiral (ADML.L) gain 3.8 percent as Banc of America Merrill Lynch upgrades the British motor insurer to "buy" from "neutral", on valuation grounds, and repeats its 1,050 pence target price.

"The 13.3 times 2010 estimated price earnings multiple that Admiral currently trades on does not fully reflect the growth that we expect," says the broker.

Banc of America Merrill Lynch forecasts earnings per share of 55.1 pence for 2009, and says Admiral has underperformed the sector by around 11 percent in the past three months amd most aspects of the near term trading outlook robust.

Reuters Messaging rm://david.brett.reuters.com@reuters.net