Upgrade Drives Avis Budget Group 12% Higher

Shares of Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ: CAR), a vehicle rental company, jumped over 12% during early Thursday trading, thanks in part to a upgrade from Morgan Stanley.

Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas upgraded Avis from underweight to equal weight and bumped the price target from $7 to $15. Jonas believes the company's $500 million secured bond issuance was hugely important, and also pointed out that management successfully achieved over $2 billion in run-rate annualized cost savings. Arguably the most important thing Jonas noted was about used cars' residual values: "Used car prices are also improving vs. our previous concerns. Risks remain but our $15 target justifies the change of view."

Image source: Getty Images.

Continue reading

Source Fool.com