Shares of FleetCor Technologies Inc. FLT rallied 5.4% in morning trading Tuesday, adding to the 6.4% leap in the previous session, after Raymond James upgraded the business-payments company. Analyst John Davis raised his rating to outperform from market perform, saying he believes that fact that activist investor D.E. Shaw’s involvement and strategic review of its business “skews the risk/reward favorably,” as his analysis suggests separating the company’s corporate payments business would create “significant shareholder value.” Davis also believes the eventual resolution of Federal Trade Commission suit and expected earnings growth acceleration in 2024 could provide a other boosts to the stock. FleetCor shares have run up 15.4% over the past three months while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 2.9%.
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