Air Products upgraded to Neutral at BofA as risks increasingly appreciated

As previously reported, BofA analyst Matthew DeYoe upgraded Air Products (APD) to Neutral from Underperform with a $275 price target Air Products shares have been more volatile than underlying markets warrant as the company manages a long tail of backlog projects that need solutions, but the firm believes this stance is increasingly “known” by investors and capitalized in the current valuation. Air Products needs “wins” with traditional gas projects to refill the backlog and shift the conversation away from legacy losers, says the analyst, who has confidence that CEO Eduardo Menezes has the skills and available levers to turn the business around, but adds “this won’t be easy.”