Blue Bird price target raised to $52 from $44 at Needham

Needham analyst Chris Pierce raised the firm’s price target on Blue Bird to $52 from $44 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company handily beat consensus estimates, raised full year guidance and increased their long term EBITDA margin guidance, benefiting from a cyclical recovery in school bus purchases and subsidized EV school buses, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The quarter saw Blue Bird pushing average selling prices meaningfully higher while expanding the company’s margin opportunity as school districts utilize government funding, the firm added.