Darden price target raised to $200 from $178 at Stephens

Stephens analyst Jim Salera raised the firm’s price target on Darden (DRI) to $200 from $178 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The firm continues to model FY25 company same-store sales modestly below company guidance, but it believes the impact of sales initiatives, including new menu items and increased marketing support, were apparent in the traffic data as Olive Garden and LongHorn both showed sequential improvement each month during the quarter, the analyst tells investors in a Q4 earnings preview.