UPDATE: Morgan Stanley Downgrades Alcon Inc. (ALC) to Equalweight

(Updated - January 7, 2022 4:55 AM EST)

Morgan Stanley analyst Cecilia Furlong downgraded Alcon Inc. (NYSE: ALC) from Overweight to Equalweight with a price target of $95.00.

The analyst comments "We are downgrading Alcon to Equal-weight from Overweight although we maintain our $95 price target. Alcon's pipeline reinvestment is paying off in each of the company's major markets, and we remain confident in an upper-tier MedTech return profile emerging over time. Management's issuance of an updated long-range plan (LRP) last year supports our confidence in Alcon's ability to re-accelerate the top line post COVID-19 and drive at least 550bps of margin expansion over the 2021-2025 time frame and we maintain our positive bias into recovery and beyond. At current levels, however, we see our positive thesis increasingly reflected in Street estimates and shares and see better relative value elsewhere in our coverage over the next year. Our $95 PT reflects a 22x EV / '23e EBITDA multiple, a four-turn premium to core large cap comps, and supported by Alcon's sound pipeline execution alongside the structural margin opportunity exiting COVID. We do not believe Alcon's narrative has structurally changed, but current valuation appears to reflect a balanced picture of risk/reward."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Alcon Inc. click here. For more ratings news on Alcon Inc. click here.

Shares of Alcon Inc. closed at $82.46 yesterday.

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