- Bank of America upgrades Vodafone to ‘Buy’
- Barclays downgrades Antofagasta, upgrades Rio Tinto
- Jefferies raises target price on Whitbread
- RBC cuts target price for ITM Power
Bank of America upgrades Vodafone to ‘Buy’
Bank of America has upgraded its recommendation for shares of Vodafone LON:VOD to ‘Buy’ (Neutral) with a small increase in the target price to 131p (130p). The broker suggested shares were now ‘Cheap’ and the new management team would bring about the restructuring needed, noting “new management is a catalyst to expedite VOD’s restructuring strategy and reallocate capital into core markets and away from those with poor returns.”.
At the time of writing, shares were priced at 91.59p, an increase of 6.6% for the year to date and -24.6% for the last 12 months.
Barclays downgrades Antofagasta, upgrades Rio Tinto
Barclays has reviewed its European metals and mining stocks in the wake of China’s relaxation of it’s zero-Covid policy. The broker has downgraded Antofagasta LON:ANTO to ‘Equalweight’ (Overweight) following strong performance dating back to last summer, but has raised the target price to 1,450p (1,275p).
The broker has upgraded Rio Tinto LON:RIO to ‘Equalweight’ (Underweight) and raised the target price to 5,800p (4,300p).
Barclays noted as part of their review “China’s reopening and ‘whatever it takes’ approach to the property sector are tectonic shifts that should underpin an acceleration in commodity demand through 2023, Allied with ongoing growth in energy transition-related commodity demand, supply side underinvestment and potential bottoming out in ex-China commodity demand, 2023 is set to be another strong year for the miners and steels,”
Antofagasta was trading at 1,776.5p at the time of writing, up 13.7% in 2023 and 23.5% over the last 12 months. Rio Tinto was trading at 6,165.3p, up 5.6% in the year to date and 13.3% over the last 12 months.
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Jefferies raises target price on Whitbread
Jefferies has raised its target price on hotel operator Whitbread LON:WTB to 3,500p (3,000p) and reiterated its ‘Overweight’ recommendation. The target price increase was driven by strong Q3 results and the broker sees the company’s strong cash position as an opportunity to grow through acquisition, noting “Whitbread trades on 11.8x 23 EV/EBITDA vs history 10.2x, with re-rating potential from defensive demand characteristics, superior yield management vs history, beneficial supply conditions and £750.0m of cash firepower.”
Whitbread shares were trading at 3,005.23p at the time of writing, up 12.3% on the year to date and -3% over the last 12 months.
RBC cuts target price for ITM Power
RBC has cut its target price for AIM listed energy storage and clean fuel company ITM Power LON:ITM to 500p (260p) but maintained an ‘Outperform’ recommendation despite the recent substantial share price de-rating. The broker points to the the appointment of Dennis Schulz as chief executive officer and sees “near and longer-term capacity expansion plans and commercial credibility” as top of the agenda.
ITM Power was trading at 93.1p at the time of writing, down 4% on the year to date and -71% over the last 12 months.
