Citi cuts 3M target, opens ‘negative short-term view’

Citi lowered the firm’s price target on 3M (MMM) to $142 from $152 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. As part of a Q1 preview for the U.S. electrical equipment and industrial conglomerates, Citi says it believes the Trump Administration’s protectionist platform should “reboot” the group’s secular tailwinds over time. As such, the firm sees “value developing” across the multis. The sector’s Q1 orders and earnings “mostly should be fine,” the analyst tells investors in a research note. Citi also initiated a “90-day negative short-term view” on 3M citing the company’s consumer, China, and auto exposure. The company has relatively high consumer exposure and and consumer sentiment has been increasingly more tepid, contends Citi.