Meritage Homes upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan

JPMorgan upgraded Meritage Homes to Overweight from Neutral with an unchanged price target of $129. The analyst remains positive on the homebuilders for 2023, but at the same time, believes fundamentals "may go sideways if not soften somewhat" over the next quarter or so as the housing market absorbs the past month’s roughly 70 basis point increase in mortgage rates. As a result, JPMorgan is tempering its enthusiasm for the stocks over the next few months. It anticipates some moderation in demand trends over the coming months following the recent move in rates. However, for Meritage Homes, the analyst says the stock is trading at a "solid discount" and not properly reflecting the firm’s outlook for above average fundamentals.