Investing.com -- Barclays has released its updated list of high-conviction European stock ideas for the second quarter, featuring three Overweight and three Underweight-rated names.

Among the Overweight picks, Sartorius and Sartorius Stedim (EPA: STDM ) lead with potential upsides of 76% and 54%, respectively.

Barclays strategists believe the companies are nearing a recovery in commercial bioprocessing demand, as COVID-era inventory overhang fades.

“Our rolling four-quarterly (R4Q) order-to-sales analysis implies that customer activity has almost reset to a level implied by the pre-COVID trajectory,” strategists led by Emmanuel Cau said in a note. The firm expects positive momentum from upcoming Q1 results.

Following encouraging comments from Merck (NSE: PROR ) at Barclays’ Miami conference, as well as updates from Sartorius and other major life sciences companies around full-year results, Barclays maintains the view that the underlying demand strength in the sector is likely to return in the near term.

Veolia (EPA: VIE ) is another Overweight-rated stock, with its upcoming waste strategy deep-dive event in June seen as a key catalyst.

“We view the deep-dive on Waste activities planned for 25 June as the most important investor education event based on continued investor debate around the perceived cyclicality of the waste operations,” the strategists wrote.

Fresenius SE (ETR: FREG ) rounds out the list with a 20% upside, bolstered by expected margin improvements in its Biopharma unit and minimal exposure to U.S. tariffs. A strong Q1 and guidance reaffirmation could support performance, strategists said.

On the Underweight side, Remy Cointreau (EPA: RCOP ) faces headwinds from slowing demand in China and the U.S., as well as potential tariff shocks.

“Remy is reporting Q4 sales on 30 April, and it is possible that management will comment on FY26 profitability, likely forcing a calculation for both the China tariff impact, as well as the U.S. tariff impact,” Barclays noted.

The investment bank is more than 20% below consensus EBIT forecasts for fiscal year 2026 (FY26) and FY27.

Deutsche Lufthansa (ETR: LHAG ) also joins the firm’s list of Underweight picks for Q2 as Barclays anticipates an abrupt deterioration in North Atlantic travel demand. The airline is particularly exposed due to weakened Asian operations and limited profitability outside its transatlantic routes.

SalMar ASA (OL: SALM ), the third Underweight name, is included due to U.S. tariff risks and a soft start to 2025. The company’s Q1 volumes were down nearly 19% year-on-year.

“We see relatively limited valuation support to offset the pressure on consensus earnings that is now a plausible base case from proposed tariffs,” strategists said. Their 2025 EBIT forecast is 20% below the Bloomberg consensus.