3M rating upgraded because of stock price
Analyst Brian Langenberg of Langenberg & Company raised his rating on 3M Co. from "hold" to "buy" because the Maplewood company's stock recently was trading 14 percent off its March 2 52-week high of $170.50 per share.
In December, Langenberg had downgraded 3M when the stock was around $166 per share. With the stock now trading around $144 per share, Langenberg sees room for about a 17 to 18 percent stock price appreciation, enough room to merit an upgrade.
Patrick Kennedy
Research report on Target bullish
Wells Fargo Securities analyst Matt Nemer has an "outperform" rating on Target Corp., and he wrote a bullish research report on Wednesday after Target reported solid second-quarter results.
Sales in signature Target categories — including style, baby, kids and wellness — were growing faster than other categories and much better in comparison to previous quarters. "The fact that these comp improvements are not largely driven by pricing or promotions is the icing on the cake, in our view," he wrote.
Nemer also is upbeat on Target's mobile and e-commerce initiatives, including plans by Target this fall to increase its ship-from-stores program from 140 to 450 locations and an "available to promise" test that would assure two- to three-business-day delivery on online orders. Both are efforts to better compete with online retailer Amazon.
