Energizer Stock (ENR) Shrugs Off Duracell’s Battery Lawsuit

Energizer (ENR) shareholders couldn’t care less about Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.B) Duracell filing a lawsuit against the battery company. Instead, the ENR shares saw a slight increase as of Tuesday afternoon. However, investors will note that Energizer stock is down 38.6% year-to-date and 27.77% over the past 12 months.

Duracell parent company Berkshire Hathaway has performed much better in comparison. While the shares were down nearly 1% today, the stock has rallied 7.13% year-to-date and 20.17% over the last year.

What’s Duracell’s Beef With Energizer?

Duracell isn’t pleased about claims Energizer has made in its recent advertisements, including that Energizer MAX batteries last 10% longer than Duracell Power Boost batteries. It argues that Energizer’s data comes from one measure using an industry standard, and that there are multiple other standards that negate this.

Duracell’s lawsuit includes the argument that, “The Energizer MAX False Advertising is a clear effort by Energizer to expand its market share – at Duracell’s expense – by confusing and misleading consumers about the comparative performance of Energizer MAX batteries and Duracell Power Boost batteries with blatantly false advertising in a transparent, and unfair, effort to drive sales.”

Duracell has requested a federal court order to stop the Energizer ad campaign. The company is also seeking monetary damages from its rival battery maker over the claims in those ads. Energizer has yet to respond to the Duracell lawsuit.

Is ENR Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?

Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Energizer is Moderate Buy, based on two Buy and five Hold ratings over the past three months. With that comes an average ENR stock price target of $29, representing a potential 38.83% upside for the shares.

See more ENR stock analyst ratings