NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) - A fresh look at Adidas ' sales channels makes the risks of the investment story fade, according to US bank Morgan Stanley. Analyst Edouard Aubin praised the sporting goods manufacturer's increasing sales momentum and raised his price target from 175 to 235 euros in a study published on Monday. In view of the potential this signals, he raised his investment rating by two notches from "Underweight" to "Overweight".

The shares rose by 3.6 percent to 203.50 euros on Monday. There is still more than 15 percent upside to Aubin's price target.

According to the analyst, the improved sales momentum is not least due to the new CEO Bjorn Gulden. The manager has now been in post for almost 18 months and the mood for Adidas has improved. This applies to both the overall business development and the lifestyle products - both are benefiting from marketing and an improved wholesale service. Added to this is an increasingly positive market environment.

In the lifestyle sector, Aubin said that his research had revealed the continued success of the "Terrace Sneaker" trend. The introduction of new products in this area and an expansion to other products, such as the SL72 model, contributed to this. Aubin also praised improvements in business development, particularly in basketball with the recently launched Anthony Edwards signature shoe and in soccer in light of the upcoming European Championships.

In the highly competitive running category, on the other hand, Adidas appears to be only at the beginning, but there are also initial signs of success there, for example with the Supernova and Adizero models.

The expert raised his sales forecasts for the years 2024 to 2026 and also sees Adidas benefiting from the product innovation slump at competitor Nike and from a more rational pricing policy./ck/mis/jha/

According to the "Overweight" rating, Morgan Stanley expects an above-average total return on the stock compared to the other stocks in the same sector that the bank monitors. A period of between twelve and 18 months is taken as a basis.

Analyzing institute Morgan Stanley.

Publication of the original study: 15.04.2024 / 04:45 / GMT

First dissemination of the original study: Date not specified in study / Time not specified in study / Time zone not specified in study