Constellation Brands price target raised to $197 from $195 at Bernstein

Bernstein raised the firm’s price target on Constellation Brands (STZ) to $197 from $195 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm notes Q3 depletions of negative (3%) were better than expected and crucially sequentially stable vs. Q2. This implies that, on net, the negative impacts on beer consumption caused by immigration and economic worries are not getting worse. CEO Bill Newlands expressed some cautious optimism that it has perhaps hit bottom, with some modest improvements in general market zip codes and a solid Christmas period.