WM assumed with Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan

JPMorgan analyst Tami Zakaria upgraded WM (WM) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $277, up from $225, after assuming coverage of the waste services sector. The stock’s multiple has remained stable versus peers re-rating, as the Stericycle acquisition and ongoing renewable natural gas project spending “have been met with skepticism,” the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm expects WM’s valuation gap versus peers narrow longer term, driven by revenue and cost synergies in Stericycle and sustainability projects gaining traction. It sees runway to raise Stericycle’s core growth profile.