Rockwell Automation price target raised to $380 from $370 at KeyBanc

KeyBanc analyst Ken Newman raised the firm’s price target on Rockwell Automation (ROK) to $380 from $370 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm notes Rockwell’s shares underperformed following its Q3 beat driven by stronger pricing and operational excellence initiatives, but it quantified 2%-3% of potential pull-forward activity in the quarter. On the call, management acknowledged the possibility for pre-buy but largely attributed it to timing differences between Q3 and Q4. KeyBanc tends to agree with this view, noting that excluding pre-buy, revenue would have still beaten consensus and its estimate.