Smurfit Westrock upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Seaport Research

Seaport Research upgraded Smurfit Westrock (SW) to Buy from Neutral with a $52 price target. The firm’s preference shifts from International Paper (IP) to Smurfit Westrock due to a widened valuation gap, growing visibility on Smurfit Westrock’s profit improvement roadmap that could boost investor confidence, and expectations that International Paper’s near-term upside is limited as its growth story increasingly depends on longer-term European initiatives, the analyst tells investors in a research note.