Instinet analyst Michael Wood raised his price target on Stanley Black & Decker Inc. to $150 from $5 on Wednesday, and said he expects the company to benefit strongly from its acquisition of Craftsman and troubles at Sears Holdings Corp. . “Craftsman maintains the highest perceived value of any tools brand, according to a study conducted by YouGov,” Wood wrote in a note. “We believe Craftsman sales have been limited by Sears’ diminishing retail presence and expect Stanley to quickly ramp both retail partnerships and domestic and sourced capacity.” Stanley is currently working “feverishly” to expand capacity at its existing plans and sign contracts for Craftsman, he said. The first production lin is expected to be online by year-end, followed by a flagship Craftsman plant by 2020, he said. In the meantime, Sears is facing mounting problems, that include suppliers that are trying to break their contracts and the recent bankruptcy filing by its Canada unit. “We see an opportunity for Stanley to recapture a portion of what was once $3.5bn in Craftsman retail sales and increase share as Sears’ woes mount,” he wrote. Stanley shares were up about 1%, and have gained 24% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 9%.
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