Estée Lauder Stock Pops as Bank of America Reinstates Coverage With ‘Buy’ Rating

Shares of Estée Lauder Cos. (EL) surged Thursday after Bank of America reinstated coverage of the stock with a “buy” rating and a bullish price target, citing optimism about the cosmetics giant’s recovery efforts.

BofA Securities analysts gave the stock a price objective of $110, about 27% above Wednesday’s closing level. Shares were up 6% to about $92 in afternoon trading.

BofA analysts wrote that Estée Lauder is the “#2 player in attractive market, where cyclical upside exists,” adding that the firm’s “Beauty Reimagined” turnaround plan would “drive efficiency & rebuild volumes.”

Last month, Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to “buy” from “hold” and lifted its price target to $95 from $71, with analysts writing that Estée Lauder was “in a far better position to at least keep pace (if not surpass) market growth rates.”

With today’s sharp gains, Estée Lauder shares have added nearly a quarter of their value this year.