Bernstein downgrades FedEx on ‘tactical pause’ into earnings

Bernstein last night downgraded FedEx (FDX) to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $316, down from $337, ahead of the Q2 earnings and the impending less-than-truckload freight spin decision. Longer-term Bernstein still sees value in the stock, but adding at these levels ahead of increasing execution, event, and policy risk “seems difficult to defend,” the analyst tells investors in a research note. As such, the firm is taking a “tactical pause” and downgrading the shares ahead of a “widely expected reset” in the near-term guidance framework and uncertainty around meeting “high” freight spinoff expectations.