Stephens analyst Mark Connelly noted that there was a lack of a positive response in shares of International Paper (IP) to reports of the company walking away from Smurfit Kappa (SMFTF), as the company subsequently confirmed, and he believes investors are waiting to see what's next from the company, which he also noted made no incremental buyback announcement despite having "ample excess liquidity." Connelly thinks International Paper is under significant investor pressure to implement a large buyback program, while he also thinks an incremental buyback is unlikely to move the needle. The analyst, who thinks the risk is currently skewed to the downside following the stock's 14% move off its post-earnings lows, keeps and Equal Weight rating and $66 price target on International Paper shares.