Susquehanna upgrades Saia to Positive, sees attractive entry point

Susquehanna upgraded Saia (SAIA) to Positive from Neutral with a price target of $420, down from $450. The firm believes Saia’s path to 20%-plus 2024 earnings growth remains viable and sees the recent cooling in post-Yellow bankruptcy enthusiasm creating “an attractive entry point in this high-quality growth story,” the analyst tells investors. The Yellow bankruptcy drove high expectations and the firm is “not surprised” by the “slightly disappointing” volumes at Old Dominion (ODFL) and margins at Saia that drove some near-term retrenchment in shares, the analyst added. In the mid-term, the firm continues to expect LTL operating leverage to remain strong into 2025 as carriers continue to cycle through their books post-Yellow and underlying industrial and retail volumes recover.