Barclays raises Inditex to 'overweight' on pricing power, inventory control
BUZZ-Barclays raises Inditex to 'overweight' on pricing power, inventory control ** Barclays upgrades Spanish fashion retailer Inditex ITX.MC to "overweight" from "equal weight" citing its pricing power and inventory control amid cost inflation
** It also sees an opportunity in Inditex's muted shareholder returns as potential upside becomes less exciting for "overweight" peers like Marks & Spencer MKS.L, B&M BMEB.L and Pepco PCOP.WA
** It adds the stock does not look cheap, but it doesn't look expensive either looking across global consumer discretionary
** The broker also notes upside from growing adoption in the U.S. of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, as consumers buy new clothes to rebuild wardrobes
** Barclays sees Zara growing at a 6% compound annual growth rate, low-teens growth for Bershka and Stradivarius and high-teens for Lefties
** It raises its price target by 12% to €62.50
** Out of 30 analysts covering Inditex, 24 rate the stock "strong buy"/"buy," five "hold" and one "sell" - LSEG data
(Reporting by Marta Serafinko in Gdansk)
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