UPDATE: Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) PT Raised to $22 at UBS

UBS analyst Michael Lasser raised the price target on Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) to $22.00 (from $20.00) while maintaining a Sell rating.

The analyst comments "Bed Bath's 4Q showed signs of progress. Still, we believe the market was expecting more in light of the favorable external backdrop. Its comps of 4% was below the market's bar of around MSD-HSD. BBBY's comps were up HSD for Jan/Feb, which trailed several of its peers who reported 20%+ SSS during the same period. The co. noted that it saw limited benefit from stimulus as its customers either didn’t receive the checks or spent it on other categories even if they did. Still, our sense is that stimulus drove increased overall spending and this helped BBBY (in addition to its transformation initiatives). Further, BBBY saw GM expansion of only 20 bps in 4Q (vs. 300+ bps in 3Q). We believe the market was expecting a similar amount of expansion as in 3Q. BBBY had to absorb pressure from channel mix (-170 bps) & higher freight (-150 bps). Still, these factors impacted it to a greater degree than its peers who faced similar factors. Overall, the results show BBBY's transformation is still in its infancy and it will be a while before its initiatives take hold. In the meantime, the uncertainty associated with the timing and magnitude of BBBY’s improvement probably acts as an overhang for the shares."

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