Blue Bird price target raised to $53 from $49 at Needham

Needham analyst Chris Pierce raised the firm’s price target on Blue Bird (BLBD) to $53 from $49 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after its Q3 earnings beat. The company continues to show strong execution against low expectations given the still compressed multiple, with fears of an EV school bus slowdown on less supportive regulatory policies as an anchor weighing on estimates continuing to look overblown given pricing power and new product levers driving increased long term margin guidance, the analyst tells investors in a research note.