Ardagh Stock Slips Pre-Market On Brazil Challenges As BofA Picks Amcor As Top Packaging Play

Bank of America downgraded Ardagh Metal Packing citing a preference for other beverage packagers like Amcor, which was upgraded, Crown and Ball.

Shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging slipped nearly 1% before markets opened on Tuesday after Bank of America (BofA) double downgraded the stock to ‘Underperform’ from ‘Buy.’

It also cut its price target on the company, citing that it prefers other beverage can makers and packagers such as Crown, Ball, and Amcor. 

“Volumes could remain muted on customer-specific trends in Brazil through Q1, partly as other brewers that Ardagh doesn't promote more aggressively, the analyst added,” it said in a research note. 

Meanwhile, BofA upgraded peer Amcor to ‘Buy’ from ‘Underperform’ with an unchanged price target of $12.50. 

The brokerage believes Amcor has good potential, especially because of its upcoming merger with Berry, which could lead to better returns for investors.

Amcor’s shares were up as much as 1.8% in pre-market trade on Wednesday. 

Retail sentiment around the stock has shifted to ‘bullish’ from ‘neutral’ over the past year, with message volumes remaining in the ‘high’ zone. 

Amcor is set to acquire Berry in an all-stock deal for $8.4 billion, expected to close by mid-2025. 

The move is meant to strengthen Amcor’s position in the packaging industry, with companies combining their respective strengths. 

Amcor’s stock is up nearly 5% this year so far, while Ardagh has fallen over 9% in the same period. 

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