Core & Main price target raised to $42 from $38 at Loop Capital

Loop Capital raised the firm’s price target on Core & Main to $42 from $38 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company’s “strong” Q3 results were driven by better-than-anticipated margin performance as the normalization of gross margin continues to take longer than expected due to benefits from its long-term margin expansion initiatives and low-cost inventory utilization, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The company was also cautiously optimistic about end market fundamentals as it begins to lap easier residential comps and nonresidential showed signs of stabilization, the firm added.