Analyst says it's time for Uber to announce share buybacks after S&P 500 inclusion
S&P Dow Jones Indices is set to implement changes to the S&P 500 effective prior to the open of trading on Monday, December 18, as part of the quarterly rebalance.
Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER), Jabil Inc (NYSE: JBL), and Builders FirstSource Inc. (NYSE: BLDR) will replace Sealed Air Corp. (NYSE: SEE), Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE: ALK), and SolarEdge Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SEDG) in S&P 500, respectively.
Uber stock gained 4.5% in pre-market on the news.
Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein raised the price target by $10 to $75 per share after S&P 500 inclusion.
“Following the inclusion, we expect UBER to lean into growth and share buybacks, which should increase investor sentiment for growth/ return in 2024,” the analyst wrote in a note.
Oppenheimer’s analysis focused on the average performance of the last 10 companies added to the S&P 500 on the first trading day post-announcement shows a notable increase of 5%.
However, this gain moderated to +3% by the 15th trading day. The range of outcomes varied, with the first day showing a range from -1% to +14%, and by day 15, the range extended from -7% to +14%.
By Senad Karaahmetovic
