EasyJet Shares Downgraded at Bernstein On Potential Rising Carbon Costs

EasyJet (LON: EZJ) shares continued to climb in today’s session despite the downgrade by Bernstein on Thursday.

Analyst Daniel Roska downgraded easyJet shares to Market Perform from Outperform with a 550p price target.

The analyst noted that easyJet has improved commercially through the pandemic, with sales per passenger approaching around 70% above pre-pandemic levels and the EasyJet Holidays business becoming a meaningful profit contributor.

In addition, Roska believes productivity improvements will allow more summer flying on the same number of planes.

However, he also stated that this is becoming better understood and he believes that still-to-come capacity restoration at legacy carriers presents a risk to fares into next winter, while the low-cost carrier also has to contend with rising carbon costs starting in 2024.

The downgrade by Bernstein contrasts with HSBC, who upgraded EasyJet to Buy from Hold on Wednesday with a 630p price target.

Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank raised its price target on EasyJet shares to 410p from 330p, maintaining a Sell rating on the stock.

Overall, analysts are split on the stock, with four assigning EasyJet shares a Buy rating, two assigning the stock a Hold rating, and four at Sell, according to TipRanks. The average price target is 454.7p, representing a potential 12% downside from current levels.