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Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) +4.1% in Friday's trading as Oppenheimer upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform with an $81 price target, citing reasonable valuation, likely upside to FY 2024 consensus, and possible Investor Day catalysts.
Itron (ITRI) "reported multiple strong quarters on improving backlog conversion and favorable mix during 2023, [and] with component lead times improving for passives and little changed for power and analog, we expect a similar start to 2024," Oppenheimer's Noah Kaye wrote.
The analyst sees Itron's (ITRI) upcoming investor day as a potential positive catalyst for the stock, with focus on medium-term growth expectations for the Outcomes segment.
Consensus for FY 2024 foresees significant deceleration in EBITDA margin improvement on 6% revenue growth, but Kaye believes the company is "capable of driving stronger operating leverage than consensus assumes."
In the renewables sector, Oppenheimer also has Outperform ratings for Canadian Solar (CSIQ), Clearway Energy (CWEN), First Solar (FSLR), Hannon Armstrong (HASI), Ormat (ORA), Sunrun (RUN) and Shoals Technologies (SHLS).