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Key Takeaways
- Planet Fitness received an upgrade Monday from Jefferies, which pointed to the gym chain’s new CEO and potential expansion as positives.
- The strategists boosted their rating to “buy” from “hold,” and lifted the price target to $100 from $62.
- Jefferies said the “stars have aligned” for Planet Fitness to increase its performance.
Planet Fitness (PLNT) shares rose in intraday trading Monday following an upgrade from Jefferies, which was optimistic about new leadership and the potential gain in the number of franchises for the gym operator.
Jefferies boosted its rating to “buy” from “hold,” and increased the price target to $100 from $62.
The strategists explained that the company’s long-term opportunity “is attractive and risk skews to the upside at current levels.”
New CEO’s ‘New Perspective and Existing Relationships’ Seen as Positives
Jefferies noted that the comments it received about new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Colleen Keating, who took the helm today, were positive, and that “we believe Colleen’s new perspective and existing relationships will serve PLNT well moving forward.”
The strategists added that Planet Fitness has made “multiple adjustments to its franchisee model” since last year, and even though headwinds from higher interest rates remain a concern, those changes, along with price increases, “can drive an acceleration in unit growth following ’24.”
They argued that “the stars have aligned for PLNT’s performance to improve moving forward.”
Shares of Planet Fitness rose 4.4% to $71.07 as of 11:30 a.m. ET Monday but remain in negative territory for 2024.