BofA Securities Upgrades International Paper (IP) to Buy

BofA Securities analyst George Staphos upgraded International Paper (NYSE: IP) from Neutral to Buy with a price target of $57.00 (from $55.00).

The analyst comments "We move to Buy on International Paper and now have Buys across our three c’board companies. As 2Q commentary suggested, there is important execution risk with IP, and consensus is muddied by its pulp divestiture. However, operating rates will now be over 95% in 2026 and we add another $40/ton to pricing for 3Q26 to our existing $40/ton increase in 1Q26 – our average $60/ton increase exceeds consensus for $20-30/ton (source: Visible Alpha). With significant capacity reductions by IP and others, (see last week’s report here), Packaging Corp (PKG; Buy) benefits more cleanly (no restructuring). However, if we’re right about pricing, this should overwhelm IP’s near-term operating issues. We’ll continue our ongoing channel checks and surveys."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on International Paper click here. For more ratings news on International Paper click here.

Shares of International Paper closed at $48.37 yesterday.

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