BANK of Ireland shares continued to advance on Dublin and London markets yesterday, following bullish comments from analysts and media on the Bristol & West Building Society.
A 10p rise in the share price to 450p following the 14p rise the previous day means that the gap in market value between AIB and Bank of Ireland has shrunk to less than £50 million. A few weeks ago, AIB's market capitalisation was almost £200 million higher than Bank of Ireland and a year ago the gap between the two was around £500 million.
Bank of Ireland was the focus of some more positive comment from banking analysts and BZW is the latest to give the stock a "buy" recommendation. Most of the demand, however, is still coming from domestic institutions. There have been suggestions from some analysts that Bank of Ireland has the capacity to reach 470p in the medium term.
If that proves to be the case, then Bank of Ireland could possibly knock AIB off its number one position in the market, unless AIB matches the suggested e in the Bank of Ireland share price. At yesterday's closing price, AIB's market value is £2,206 million, compared with Bank of Ireland valuation at £2,148 million.
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