Norsk Hydro's shares declined after RBC Capital Markets downgraded the stock to 'sector perform' from 'outperform' and Kepler Cheuvreux issued cautious revisions to its estimates. The Norwegian aluminium producer's stock was cited at NOK85.82, above RBC's new price target of NOK80, as investors reacted to continued weakness in the company's downstream operations.

RBC cited another quarter of negative EBITDA in Extrusions Europe and year-over-year margin declines across all extrusion segments. The brokerage trimmed its fiscal 2026-2028 estimates, cutting adjusted extrusion EBITDA by 7% and lowering extrusion net asset value by 11%. RBC also reduced its overall NAV for the FY26-FY28 period by 4%, citing tight scrap supply, negative billet-over-ingot spreads, and higher alumina and energy costs.

Kepler Cheuvreux said Hydro's Q4 results should be 'share-price neutral,' with only slight adjustments to forecasts despite raising alumina price assumptions for 2025 and 2026 by 1% each. Both brokerages highlighted the contrast between Hydro's stronger upstream performance and its lagging downstream recovery, with RBC noting the stock's 30% gains over the past six months already reflect benefits from tight aluminium markets and Hydro's low-carbon positioning.