Bed Bath & Beyond Rallies Ahead Of Q2 Print: 4 Analysts Weigh In

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. BBBY shares were trading sharply higher Monday, ahead of the retailer's Oct. 2 second-quarter report. 

The Street weighted in on the stock ahead of the quarterly print.

The Analysts

Wedbush analyst Jen Redding upgraded bed Bath & Beyond from Neutral to an Outperform and raised the price target to $16.

UBS analyst Michael Lasser maintained a Neutral rating with a $13 price target.

Raymond James analyst Bobby Griffin reaffirmed a Strong Buy rating and $17 price target.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Curtis Nagle maintained a Buy rating with a $20 price target.

Bank of America: Cautious Near-Term Outlook 

The clock is ticking on Bed Bath & Beyond, Nagle said, but he added that he continues to see a compelling a long-term turnaround story.

The analyst has a cautious near-term outlook for the company’s earnings report and said he expects Bed Bath & Beyond to deliver earnings of 20 cents per share, 9 cents short of the consensus estimate.

“The biggest potential near-term catalyst for the stock, in our view, would be the appointment of a new CEO, which may come on or before the earnings date.”  

Raymond James: Buy Ahead Of Q2

Bed & Bath Beyond is a strong buy ahead of the second-quarter report, Griffin said in a Monday note. 

The call is controversial, but the stock has more value than the Street is assigning, the analyst said.

“Furthermore, we see the potential for non-core asset sales and the announcement of a new CEO as two near-term catalysts that should move BBBY higher.” 

With the right new management team and store investment plan, the company is a fixable retail business, he said. 

UBS: Same-Store Sales Likely To Miss Estimates

The company’s same-store sales are likely to miss consensus estimates on Wednesday, Lasser said in a Monday note. 

“While consumer spending was strong during BBBY’s 2Q, we don’t think the company benefited much from this tailwind.”

Same-store sales were probably negatively impacted by the retailer's decision to rationalize less profitable SKUs, the analyst said. 

Wedbush Expects New CEO To Be Named 

Although turning around declining retailers is a very difficult task, Redding said she sees a good chance of stabilization — if not growth — in earnings over the next two years as sweeping changes take hold.

The analyst expects the company to name a well-regarded CEO to lead its transformation in conjunction with its second-quarter report. 

Price Action

Bed Bath & Beyond shares were trading 7.08% higher at $10.59 at the time of publication Monday. 

Related Links:

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Photo by Anthony92931 via Wikimedia.