Knight-Swift price target lowered to $53 from $60 at Stifel

Stifel analyst J. Bruce Chan lowered the firm’s price target on Knight-Swift (KNX) to $53 from $60 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Expectations for the truckload carrier group have weakened and stocks have sold off ahead of first quarter earnings, though consensus “had been coagulating around an improving demand backdrop and modest recovery this year.” However, J.B. Hunt’s (JBHT) earnings report and Knight’s profit warning “pumped the jake brakes on the warm sentiments that the sector may have been feeling,” the analyst noted. The firm still feels the market is oversupplied with trucks and drivers, which is consistent with Knight’s profit warning, the analyst added.