BTI British American Tobacco   - $37.41
0.38 (1.03%) - 09/12/19
- SBSH
E-vapor regulation to hit Juul hard, 'odd time' for merger talks, says Citi The Trump Administration said yesterday that it will "clear" the market of all non-tobacco flavored e-vapor products, including mint and menthol, Citi analyst Adam Spielman tells investors in a research note. The analyst had hoped the rules would have little impact on Juul as it has stopped supplying fruit flavors to physical stores. However, Trump's proposal is likely to hit Juul hard, as about three-quarter of its volume is in mint, says Spielman. Further, he believes at least half of British American Tobacco's (BTI) and IImperial Brands' (IMBBY) e-vapor volumes in the U.S. will be banned under the new definition. This all reinforces that this is an "odd time" for Philip Morris (PM) and Altria Group (MO) to be in merger talks, contends Spielman. The analyst, who doubts Trump's announcement will affect the talks between the companies, says the future of tobacco regulation in the U.S. is unclear currently. "We can only assume the companies have chosen to talk now because they are very confident about the outcomes. We, by contrast, see plenty of risk," writes Spielman. - 08/28/19
- JPMS
08/28/19
NO CHANGEJPMS
Neutral Philip Morris selloff on Altria merger talks overdone, says JPMorgan JPMorgan analyst Celine Pannuti views the selloff in shares of Philip Morris (PM) following confirmation of the company's merger talks with Altria Group (MO) as overdone. The deal leads to value accretion at no premium and U.S. regulatory risks are already embedded in the sector de-rating, Pannuti tells investors in a research note. The analyst also sees the weakness in British American Tobacco (BTI) shares as a buying opportunity. The consideration of a merger between Philip Morris and Altria is a vote of confidence in the U.S. combustibles profit pool, contrary to current market sentiment, says Pannuti. The analyst keeps a Neutral rating on Philip Morris with an $86 price target. - 08/27/19
- SBSH
Citi sees no antitrust reason to stop Philip Morris, Altria deal Citi analyst Adam Spielman is surprised by the merger talks between Philip Morris (MO) and Altria Group (MO) but feels the deal is likely to go ahead as he sees no antitrust reason to stop it. With the combined company likely a stronger competitor, the potential deal is not a positive for both British American Tobacco (BTI) and Imperial Brands (IMBBY), Spielman tells investors in a research note. - 07/16/19
- WELS
Wells says Nielsen restatement could be positive for Monster, tobacco stocks Wells Fargo analyst Bonnie Herzog noted that Nielsen (NLSN) just announced that it will restate data to address serious issues with its calculation methodology in the convenience store channel related to projections it applied to independent c-stores. The restated data, to be released on August 20, is expected to improve cigarette and energy drink trends and she views this as a positive for tobacco stocks and Monster Beverage (MNST). Publicly traded companies in the tobacco space include Altria Group (MO), British American Tobacco (BTI) and Philip Morris (PM). - $46.49
0.08 (0.17%) - 10/18/19
- SBSH
10/18/19
UPGRADETarget $46
SBSH
Neutral Citi upgrades Altria to Neutral on 'less bad' cigarette volume outlook Citi analyst Adam Spielman upgraded Altria Group to Neutral from Sell with a price target of $46, up from $45. The stock closed Thursday up 77c to $44.28. The analyst now expects "less bad" cigarette volumes next year. Electronic vapor usage will fall due to the negative publicity around vaping and the imminent flavor ban, which will help cigarettes, Spielman tells investors in a research note. Further, with Altria shares below his price target, the analyst no longer thinks the stock looks expensive relative to overseas peers. With that said, Spielman still expects the short-term news flow, both on FDA regulation and earnings, "to be difficult." - 10/18/19
- STFL
Cronos Group upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel Stifel analyst Andrew Carter upgraded Cronos Group (CRON) to Buy from Hold with a price target of C$14.00, down from C$16.50. The analyst Cronos is "unconstrained" in its ability to invest towards a $200B global opportunity with C$2B in cash on hand the resources of Altria Group (MO), Carter tells investors in a research note titled "Crowning a New King in the North." The analyst believes Cronos will show an "enhanced revenue growth profile" that leverages the distribution capabilities of Altria to build its U.S. CBD business and demonstrate "break-through product potential" in the Canadian vapor segment. Given the company's "advantaged and enhanced position," investors should buy Cronos shares following their recent pullback, says Carter. - 10/18/19
- SBSH
10/18/19
UPGRADESBSH
Neutral Altria Group upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Citi Citi analyst Adam Spielman upgraded Altria Group to Neutral from Sell. - 10/18/19
Fly Intel: Top five analyst upgrades Catch up on today's top five analyst upgrades with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. Altria Group (MO) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Citi with analyst Adam Spielman saying he now expects "less bad" cigarette volumes next year. 2. Snap (SNAP) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill with analyst Justin Post saying the stock has sold off despite "solid" industry and advertising spend channel checks. 3. Chipotle (CMG) upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BofA/Merrill with analyst Gregory Francort saying he expects the company to generate better comps and margins over the near term given its "strong" sales momentum and normalizing avocado prices, even though he is "struggling" with the valuation on the stock. 4. Republic Services (RSG) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill with analyst Michael Feniger calling the stock "a more balanced way" to gain exposure to the theme of higher disposal pricing than peer Waste Management (WM), which he downgraded this morning. 5. Waste Connections (WCN) upgraded to Overweight from Sector Weight at KeyBanc with analyst Sean Eastman saying he expects Waste Connections to report an in-line Q3, and sees 2019 guidance remaining intact. This list is just a portion of The Fly's full analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here. - $0.00
(0.00%) - 05/28/19
- SBSH
Cigarette data from Nielsen 'dire,' industry data also 'very bad,' says Citi Citi analyst Adam Spielman noted that Nielsen reported earlier today that cigarette industry volumes fell 11.2% in the four weeks ended May 18, noting that shares of Altria (MO), British American Tobacco (BTI) and Imperial (IMBBY) all fell following the "dire" data. Volumes in MSAi, the industry database that he regards as much more reliable than Nielsen, were down 6.4% in the same period, which Spielman said "is still a very bad figure, but it is a lot, lot better than the Nielsen one." Looking ahead, the analyst said he expects "gradually less bad" volumes in Nielsen in the rest of the year, though he noted that Altria has said it expects industry volumes to fall about 4%-5% this year and he forecasts a decline of about 6%. In late afternoon trading, Altria shares are down 4.5%, British American has declined over 4% and Philip Morris (PM) is down 5%. - 03/28/19
- SBSH
Imperial Brands upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citi Citi analyst Adam Spielman upgraded Imperial Brands to Buy from Neutral and raised his price target for the shares to GBP 30 from GBP 27. The analyst believes organic revenue growth for tobacco companies will pick up this year as sales of next generation products accelerate. Further, the regulatory threat will probably move away from cigarettes, Spielman tells investors in a research note. He thinks an even greater focus on e-vapor cigarettes could be positive for both British American Tobacco and Imperial Brands. - $83.70
0.11 (0.13%) - 10/01/19
- BOFA
Philip Morris upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill - 10/01/19
Fly Intel: Top five analyst upgrades Catch up on today's top five analyst upgrades with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. Ericsson (ERIC) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Canaccord with analyst Michael Walkley saying since the Q2 earnings report, Ericsson has announced deals with Nex-Tech, RINA, and KDDI, demonstrating continuing 5G momentum. 2. VMware (VMW) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo with analyst Philip Winslow saying investors have been concerned that growing interest in deploying containerized applications into Kubernetes-centric environments will eventually reduce customer demand for VMware's virtualization-centric product portfolio. 3. Tradeweb Markets (TW) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays with analyst Jeremy Campbell saying recent weakness in the shares "seems largely technical," which presents an "attractive upside opportunity." 4. Scotts Miracle-Gro (SMG) upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BofA/Merrill with analyst Christopher Carey saying the bar on the company's earnings consensus may be "too low." 5. Philip Morris (PM) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill with analyst Lisa Lewandowski citing the suspended merger discussions with Altria (MO) amid the heightened risk for U.S. vaping category following reports of lung health concerns. This list is just a portion of The Fly's full analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here. - 10/01/19
- BOFA
10/01/19
UPGRADETarget $96
BOFA
Buy Philip Morris upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill BofA/Merrill analyst Lisa Lewandowski upgraded Philip Morris (PM) to Buy with a price target of $96 after the suspended merger discussions with Altria (MO) amid the heightened risk for U.S. vaping category following reports of lung health concerns. The analyst notes that the whole industry may be impacted by uncertainty around vaping, but she sees Philip Morris rising above the "noise" due to its lack of vaping exposure, strong underlying fundamentals, and potential for offering alternatives to vaping products. - 09/26/19
- WELS
Wells Fargo not surprised Philip Morris, Altria Group ended merger talks Wells Fargo analyst Bonnie Herzog says that while she is dismayed by the announcement that Philip Morris (PM) and Altria (MO) have ended merger talks, she is not all that surprised given the length of negotiations and the litany of negative FDA/health headlines throughout. The analyst expects the stocks to trade up sharply since "clearly the market wasn't in favor of this combination." Herzog adds that it appears to her the talks fell apart over JUUL and the companies announced they have agreed to focus on launching iQOS in the U.S. "as part of their mutual interest to achieve a smoke free future." The analyst continues to believe Philip Morris/Altria have a competitive advantage, especially in this environment, with iQOS. She continues to "strongly recommend" both stocks, with Philip Morris remaining her top stock pick. |