Itron downgraded to Outperform at Raymond James with ‘easy money’ made

Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov downgraded Itron to Outperform from Strong Buy with a price target of $80, up from $70. The “easy money” has been made now that the long-running supply chain headwinds are noticeably dissipating, argues the analyst, who notes that Itron is one of the best-performing clean tech stocks year-to-date with an advance of 42%. For multiple expansion beyond current levels, the firm thinks that the company needs to bolster its software capabilities via “opportunistic M&A,” but it adds that it “not recommending M&A on a scale that would result in equity dilution” although dry powder on the balance sheet can fund one or more acquisitions of private software companies.