Morgan Stanley analyst Neel Kumar initiated coverage of Avery Dennison with an Equal Weight rating and $137 price target. He believes the company's "strong execution" and market leadership position is already priced in while he expects demand softness to linger into 2020, Kumar tells investors.

Reports Q1 revenue $2.2B, consensus $2.15B. "We are off to a strong start to the year. In the first quarter we delivered significant earnings growth, driven by higher volume and productivity gains," said Deon Stander, president and CEO. "Materials Group delivered significant volume growth and margin expansion, as downstream inventory destocking subsided and volumes continued to normalize. Solutions Group delivered strong top-line growth, driven by high-value categories, despite apparel imports continuing to be below demand. In Intelligent Labels, we are targeting to deliver another year of significant growth in 2024, as the apparel industry normalizes and we accelerate the adoption of our solutions that help address key industry challenges, further advancing our leadership position at the intersection of the physical and digital," added Stander. We continue to expect strong earnings growth in 2024 and remain confident that the consistent execution of our strategies will enable us to meet our long-term goals for superior value creation through a balance of profitable growth and capital discipline. Once again, I want to thank our entire team for their continued resilience, focus on excellence and commitment to addressing the unique challenges at hand."