Hertz downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank downgraded Hertz to Hold from Buy with a price target of $9, down from $16. The analyst upgraded Avis Budget (CAR) and downgraded Hertz (HTZ), seeing an “unreasonably wide risk/reward disconnect between the two stocks here.” Hertz’s well-chronicled electric vehicle strategy, which recently pivoted to include the sale of one-third of the fleet, leaves investors with little conviction in the company’s true run rate earnings power over the next few years, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm views Hertz’s decision to reduce its EV fleet as a positive, but says it is unclear this will be the last culling of EVs. As the company responds to market conditions and evolves its operational strategies, “it is entirely possible that the company might again reduce its EV holdings,” contends Deutsche Bank.