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

** USB raises Flughafen Zuerich FHZN.S to "buy" from "neutral", seeing valuation upside with several catalysts, including a potential dividend increase, and an acceleration in airline capacity allocated to Zurich from 2026

** Britain's valve maker Spirax Group SPX.L offers attractive risk-reward profile, Barclays says, pointing to FY24 trough earnings and scope for upside potential in 2025; raises to "overweight" from "equal weight"

** Barclays also raises the Swiss lift and escalator maker Schindler SCHP.S to "overweight" from "equal weight", as limited China exposure provides a foundation for western construction end markets

** Scor's SCOR.PA efforts to rebuild reserves and address underwriting create some stability, J.P.Morgan says as it raises the French insurer to "neutral" from "underweight"

** JPM cuts Dutch insurance group NN NN.AS to "neutral" from "overweight", seeing less scope for a positive earnings surprise despite attractive valuation

** Deutsche Bank raises France's Pernod Ricard PERP.PA to "hold" from "sell" as it remains cautious on spirits but continues liking soft drinks

** HSBC raises Fresenius Medical Care FMEG.DE to "buy" from "hold", expecting continued EPS growth coupled with multiples appreciation, given the room for large improvement in margins

** HSBC cuts Swiss Life SLHN.S to "reduce" from "hold", citing concerns on the group's ability to meet fee result guidance for the asset managers segment

(*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.)

(Reporting by Anastasiia Kozlova and Michela Stasio)

((Michela.stasio@thomsonreuters.com))