What happened
Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) were up 6.3% as of 2:00 p.m. EDT Monday after an analyst at Wedbush upgraded shares of the specialty retailer from neutral to outperform. The firm also raised its per-share price target by $2 to $16 -- a significant premium from Friday's closing price at $9.89 per share.
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So what
To justify his relative bullishness, Wedbush's Seth Basham suggested Bed Bath & Beyond could benefit from progress in recent business transformation initiatives, as well as sweeping changes made to its board of directors following pressure from activist investors. Basham added that the retailer's earnings should stabilize over the next two years as it implements that transformation, helped in part by private-label brands and the potential sale of noncore assets such as its Cost Plus World Market chain of stores.
Now what
Basham also speculated with its fiscal second-quarter 2019 results slated for this Wednesday -- and following the resignation of CEO Steven Temares in May -- Bed Bath & Beyond could name a "well-regarded and highly experienced" CEO this week.
Of course, that quarterly report will only offer a glimpse of Bed Bath & Beyond's early progress ahead of the crucial holiday season. But with shares still trading near multiyear lows, it's no surprise to see some investors betting on its potential return to sustained, profitable growth.
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