James Hardie upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley analyst Andrew Scott upgraded James Hardie (JHX) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a A$55 price target. While the firm says it struggles to justify the premium paid for Azek (AZEK), the 21% month-to-date share price decline makes James Hardie shares “cheap even allowing for EPS dilution,” the analyst tells investors. Though the firm expects “volatile near-term performance,” it argues that on a medium-term basis “value cannot be ignored.”