Fastenal upgraded to Peer Perform from Underperform at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research upgraded Fastenal (FAST) to Peer Perform from Underperform without a price target ahead of the Q1 report. The firm believes Fastenal’s consensus estimates “look reasonable.” While stock’s multiple “gives us pause,” there is little reason for a near-term de-rating as the company is a “defensive play on short-cycle,” the analyst tells investors in a research note. Wolfe believes Fastenal is well positioned in the current environment, with “a bit of a goldilocks set up as a defensive stock that has torque to ISM inflection.”