Caterpillar price target raised to $355 from $295 at UBS

UBS analyst Steven Fisher raised the firm’s price target on Caterpillar (CAT) to $355 from $295 and keeps a Sell rating on the shares ahead of the Q4 earnings. The fundamentals have played out mostly as expected over the last 18 months, though the stock has not reacted accordingly, likely because investors are too optimistic on the potential trough for Caterpillar, the analyst says. The firm thinks the hypothetical trough/peak EPS could be ~$12/$33, with midcycle at ~$22, and in the near term, expects a more challenging first half of 2025 for Caterpillar as North America construction digests the growth from the past several years and oil and gas growth stalls.