It would be easy to assume that things were looking gloomy for Stellantis (NYSE:STLA), especially given its troubles—both actual and potential—with the United Auto Workers (UAW) and potential strikes incoming. Today, however, was a good day for Stellantis, up nearly 3% in the closing minutes of Monday’s trading day.
The latest word is that the original share buyback program announced back in February, would be carrying on for a third tranche. This one will be smaller than the original, however; the February agreement covered 1.5 billion euros (about $1.61 billion U.S.). The current buyback will only run a third of that number, at 500 million euros (about $573.42 million). Since there was enough room left over from the first and second tranches, there should be room enough to carry out the third comfortably.
But what about the strike? Well, good news there, too; Stellantis reported that it’s made solid progress, and the UAW doesn’t seem to object to those terms other than to call negotiations “slow.” With only days left until a strike, however, slow negotiations aren’t really what’s needed to prevent disruption. However, UAW president Shawn Fein called the counteroffers received so far “inadequate,” putting further jeopardy into the market that only recently recovered from an array of supply chain and labor troubles.
Turning to Wall Street, analyst consensus considers Stellantis a Strong Buy. With 11 Buy ratings and two Holds, it’s clear that many analysts find Stellantis stock worthwhile. Furthermore, with an average price target of $23.97, Stellantis stock even offers investors 28.11% upside potential.
