American Airlines downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Bernstein

Bernstein downgraded American Airlines to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $12, down from $18. The firm has long viewed American Airlines as a catch-up story, a company with a later merger that kept it from keeping pace with legacy peers; an airline that emerged from COVID with a younger, more simplified fleet; an airline where the lucrative credit card deals with banks are below market rates. While a catch-up event could still be in the cards, there’s enough working against American at present to give Bernstein pause in under-writing a longer-term investment case.