Waldencast ( NASDAQ: WALD ) has significant upside ahead of it, according to Jefferies analyst Stephanie Wissink.
She advised clients that the skin care company’s appeal to indie brands and strong leadership are key to stimulating growth and execution toward long term goals. She also highlighted the company’s strong financial position and “fluency” in M&A as major positives.
“M&A is a fluent part of the beauty industry, but founder controlled or PE-backed to corporate sell-aways have had spotty success over time,” Wissink explained. “WALD's HoldCo approach is notably unique, empowering & supporting brands with centralized and scalable ops functions, but allowing areas of aesthetic, product development, and commercialization to remain independent.”
She explained that this allows for the acquisition of emerging brands that defy simple categorization. This is an attractive characteristic in the dynamic beauty industry, in Wissink’s view.
As such, she initiated the stock at a “Buy” rating with an $11 price target, suggesting about a 30% upside from Tuesday’s closing price.
“The company wins brand additions through its platform value, and it's appeal to indie founders & brands seeking to scale but with protections around unique marketing strategies and functional independence,” Wissink concluded. “Combined, the duality of growth drivers is attractive, especially at a steep discount to the market and peer multiples.”
Read more on the company’s latest earnings result .
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Waldencast receives bullish initiation from Jefferies