Symbotic price target raised to $54 from $35 at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer raised the firm’s price target on Symbotic to $54 from $35 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm views headlines that Walmart (WMT) has started testing deployments of “dark stores,” or sites dedicated to online order fulfillment, in Dallas and Bentonville as a positive for Symbotic (SYM) following its acquisition of the retailer’s automated pickup and delivery in January. While the transaction contemplated up to 400 APD systems representing up to $5B in backlog for Symbotic, Oppenheimer remains cautious on the pace of orders, as the companies remain in the R&D phase of development. It views this strategy as potentially transformative for the retail space as companies harmonize real estate positions and the ongoing competition within e-commerce.