Home Depot stock surges toward a record after Oppenheimer's Nagel becomes the Street's most bullish analyst

Shares of Home Depot Inc. hiked up 1.8% toward a record close in afternoon trading Monday, after Oppenheimer analyst Brian Nagel turned bullish on the home improvement retailer, citing less near-term risks for of cyclical pullback of the home improvement sector. Nagel raised his rating to outperform, after being at perform for the past 15 months. He set a $470 price target for the stock, which makes him the most bullish of the 34 analysts surveyed by FactSet. Nagel said after carefully reevaluating near-term prospects for Home Depot, as well as peer Lowe's Companies , he said that while challenges remain, he is now "more confident" that "risks of a significant, transitional-type setback" for home improvement retail have diminished. He also believes underlying demand growth is likely to persist even as COVID-19 pandemic-related tailwinds abate, which should help provide continued "solid, if not outsized" sales and profit growth for both retailers. Home Depot's stock has soared 25.7% over the past three months, while Lowe's shares have climbed 21.9% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has slipped 0.4%.

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