BofA Merrill Lynch double-upgrades Whitbread, downgrades IHG

Bank of America Merrill Lynch double-upgraded its stance on Premier Inn owner Whitbread on Friday, but downgraded InterContinental Hotels following this week’s news of a potential Covid-19 vaccine.

"Although we acknowledge that the recovery is likely to be gradual, the vaccine news reduces uncertainty and gives us confidence in an early cycle recovery into next year," the bank said.

Merrill upped Whitbread to ‘buy’ from ‘underperform’ and hiked the price target to 3,250p from 2,100.

"We believe Whitbread’s stronger operational leverage is favourable in the recovery, its mix is attractive (budget and domestic exposure) and we see opportunities for market share gains in the UK," it said.

Merrill downgraded IHG to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy’ but lifted the price target to 4,850p from 4,750p. "IHG benefits from a high quality business model and has navigated well through the outbreak but we now see moderate upside potential," it said.

The bank retained its ‘buy’ rating on France’s Accor, given its diversified model and strong liquidity profile.