Shares of Manitowoc jump on Morgan Stanley upgrade; analysts say stock is undervalued

Shares of Manitowoc jump on analyst upgrade

NEW YORK — Shares of Manitowoc Co. jumped Tuesday after a Morgan Stanley analysts upgraded the heavy equipment maker’s shares and said the stock is undervalued.

THE SPARK: Analysts Robert Wertheimer, Joseph O’Dea and Alexander Vecchio upgraded the Manitowoc, Wis., company’s stock to “Overweight” from “Equal” and raised their price target to $16 from $15.

THE BIG PICTURE: Shares of Manitowoc have fallen since the company said last week that its revenue dropped 12 percent because of slowing demand in the company’s crane segment.

THE ANALYSIS: Manitowoc’s second-quarter net income still came in better than expected, the analysts wrote in a note to investors. The company “will be able to refinance smoothly when it chooses,” which should boost its fourth-quarter results, they said.

Shares are pricing “in a risk of distress or dilution, not just skepticism on (the) pace of crane recovery,” they said.

SHARE ACTION: Shares of Manitowoc jumped 56 cents, or 5.2 percent, to close at $11.28.