Amer Sports price target raised to $27 from $19 at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley raised the firm’s price target on Amer Sports (AS) to $27 from $19 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. Against record gross margins, the firm thinks softlines profitability expansion “will be harder to come by” in 2025, which places the burden on sales growth acceleration and/or expense reduction. This setup makes 2025 more of a stock-picking environment in softlines, and also means the dispersion between leaders and laggards likely continues to widen, the analyst tells investors.