BMO Capital analyst John McNulty upgraded Linde plc to Outperform from Market Perform and raised his price target for the shares to $210 from $178. The analyst thinks the company will see "at least" mid-teens earnings growth in the next three years, driven by limited gas industry capacity adds, an inflationary environment, consolidation, and industry discipline. The bulk of these factors are largely not macro dependent, "offering stability to the equation," McNulty tells investors in a research note.

Linde announced it has signed two agreements with China South Steel, a member of the China Baowu Steel Group Corporation, one of the world's largest steel enterprises. Linde has signed an agreement to de-captivate an air separation unit, or ASU, at China South Steel's plant in Shaoguan, Guangdong Province. Linde already owns and operates five on-site ASUs to supply industrial gases to China South Steel in Shaoguan and will now de-captivate and upgrade a sixth. The agreement brings Linde's total on-site production capacity in Shaoguan to approximately 130,000 cubic meters per hour. In addition to the de-captivation, Linde has extended its long-term agreement with China South Steel for the supply of industrial gases at Shaoguan. Linde's industrial gases complex also meets demand from Linde's local merchant customers.