J.P. Morgan says Sodexo 'well catered for' and upgrades to 'Overweight'
** J.P. Morgan upgrades Sodexo EXHO.PA to "Overweight" from "Neutral", saying the French caterer's turnaround set-up is "turning more constructive"
** The broker raises its price target by about 26% to €68 from €54, implying roughly 20% upside, and says the stock "still screens inexpensive on the numbers versus history and peers"
** "We are approaching an inflection, FY 27 likely the first year to break the downtrend in new development, and the recent Meta award an important proof point," JPM says
** Broker flags contract wins as the next catalyst, noting "all eyes on contract wins, with cash and balance sheet the next proof points"
** JPM says risk-reward is "asymmetric... even under our conservative base case," though flags that the new CEO is "the third consecutive leader to take a run at the turnaround"
** Out of 19 analysts who cover Sodexo, four rate the stock "strong buy" or "buy," 12 "hold" and three rate the stock "strong sell" or "sell" - LSEG data