Prison operator CoreCivic rises after Wedbush turns bullish, hikes PT

Geo

10/12/2024 14:29

** Shares of CoreCivic  CXW.O  up 3.1% at $22.61 premarket after
Wedbush upgrades to 'outperform' from 'neutral', citing higher
potential U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
detention utilization
    ** Wedbush hikes PT by $11 to $30, implying ~37% upside to
stock's last close
** Given recent commentary from President-elect Donald Trump and
his transition team on promised mass deportations, "we now
believe that the need for incremental ICE beds could be even
higher than previously expected, and that this need for beds
could result in a reactivation of the lost South Texas
contract," Wedbush analyst Brian Violino writes in note
    ** Potential uptick in EBITDA could lead to an acceleration
of share repurchase activity, which has been on hold since loss
of South Texas, he adds
** Through Mon close, CXW shares, have gained 61% since the Nov
5 election, after Trump, who promised to crack down on illegal
immigration, clinched a second term in the White House
    ** Meanwhile, shares of peer Geo Group  GEO.N  have surged
86% since the election through Mon

(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed
are his own)
((lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))