Double upgrade from BofA-ML sees British American Tobacco jump
British American Tobacco
2,855.00p
15:45 15/11/24
Bank of America-Merrill Lynch upgraded its recommendation for shares of British American Tobacco from 'underperform' to 'buy', hailing management's moves away from the status quo of a traditional tobacco company and to speed-up its decision making processes.
FTSE 100
8,060.61
15:45 15/11/24
FTSE 350
4,453.56
15:45 15/11/24
FTSE All-Share
4,411.85
15:45 15/11/24
Tobacco
33,072.47
15:45 15/11/24
The analysts also hailed BAT's boss Jack Bowles moves to streamline the company, including the elimination of a fifth of its senior managers and to consolidate the brands within its portfolio of so-called new generation products, such as electronic cigarettes and heat-not-burn vaping products.
As well, recent health concerns around vaping had led vaping rival Juul, which was backed by its Altria, one of British American's most direct competitors, to pull back on its marketing spend, in turn reducing the competition that the company was facing in that space.
Meanwhile, an expected delay in the Food and Drug Administration's decision on reducing nicotine levels and prohibit menthol cigarettes for at least 12 months, as it dealth with the vaping crisis - would yield near-term benefits for British American Tobacco.
BoA-ML raised its target for British American Tobacco from 2,500.0p to 3,400.0p.