AlphaValue/Baader Europe Upgrades AutoStore Rating, Price Target After Q2 Beat

01:02 AM EDT, 08/25/2026 (MT Newswires) -- AlphaValue/Baader Europe upgraded its rating and price target for AutoStore Holdings (AUTO.OL) after the company's better-than-anticipated second-quarter results. "We turned optimistic on AutoStore in May 2026. While the stock price run has been stronger than our expectations, we once again turn bullish on the Norwegian warehousing automation player. This reflects our more positive view on earnings during the forecast years and over the long term. We have also factored in the start of dividend payments during the forecast period, in line with management's commentary that discussions have already started with the Board. From a valuation perspective, both fundamental metrics [discounted cash flow and net asset value] have increased by 30-40%, resulting in a c.38% increase in our target price," according to a Monday note. As a result, the research firm changed its rating to add from sell and raised its price target to 18.6 Norwegian kroner from 13.5 kroner. Analysts also raised their full-year 2026 EPS forecast to $0.06 from $0.05. "The increase in EPS is attributable to the following: 1) stronger-than-expected Q2 performance, with both sales and profit more than 20% ahead of consensus; 2) improved FY26 sales guidance to around $700m, c.5% ahead of consensus; 3) robust order intake of $217.6m (+44.7% yoy), around 34% ahead of consensus, taking backlog to a record $596m - we expect this momentum to be sustained over the coming quarters; and 4) management's $75m share buyback [program], which we expect to continue in subsequent years," AlphaValue/Baader Europe wrote. For the three months ended June 30, AutoStore reported a 43.4% year-over-year increase in revenue to $192.1 million and a 50.5% boost in gross profit to $138.7 million.