Levi Strauss Stock Surges as JPMorgan Bumps Price Target on Raised Outlook

Shares of Levi Strauss (LEVI) were up nearly 7% in premarket trading Friday, a day after the denim retailer topped fiscal second-quarter estimates and lifted its full-year outlook, leading JPMorgan analysts to bump their price target.

The analysts noted that Levi’s management said it has seen “no signs of moderation in business momentum to date including June or 3Q-to-date,” as they lifted their price target to $23 from $18. The new target puts JPMorgan above the average price target of $20.63 held by the eight analysts tracked by Visible Alpha, split between six “buy” and two “hold” ratings.

Levi’s, whose shares entered Friday up 14% this year, saw sales increase across all of its regions and in both of its men’s and women’s segments in Q2. The analysts noted executives said that the brand became the No. 1 women’s denim brand in the last 12 months.

Last quarter, Levi’s management said that it was considering price changes to mitigate the impact of tariffs, but said they planned to be “surgical” if they had to raise them at all rather than hiking prices across the board. JPMorgan analysts upgraded Levi’s stock to “overweight” from “neutral” following the Q1 report, but cut their price target on concerns that tariffs could hamper full-year profit.