H&M shares rose 4% to 129.96 kroner as Bank of America double-upgraded the retailer to buy from underperform and lifted its price target to 165 kroner from 90 kroner. “After falling 80% in 10 years, we believe earnings are not only bottoming, but are about to rebound faster and stronger than expected by the market,” the analysts said. The bank cited expectations that input costs and currency headwinds will reverse, a SEK2 billion cost-savings plan and one-offs on Russia and restructuring being behind it. “Being negative on H&M has become consensual: the market does not believe in the recovery plan, the number of sellers on the sell-side is at 3-year high and the short-interest is >10% of free float.”
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