Goldman Sachs has a sweeter taste in its mouth when it comes to Anheuser-Busch Inbev . Analyst Olivier Nicolaï upgraded the alcoholic beverage maker’s U.S.-listed shares to buy from neutral. Nicolaï also lifted his price target by $18 to $88, which implies 30.8% upside over last week’s close. “ABInBev has the potential to return to its previous best-in class status in FMCG,” Nicolaï wrote in a Monday note to clients, using the acronym for fast-moving consumer goods. Nicolaï said the company should be able to see 1.2% volume growth if the U.S. drag moderates and the Chinese market recovers. That can lead to 4.5% organic sales growth and organic EBITDA growth of 7%, which would come in near the top end of the guided range. The Corona and Bud Light parent has macro tailwinds and leverage tied to debt reduction that are “underappreciated” by investors, according to the analyst. Nicolaï said the next catalyst for the stock should be its second-quarter earnings report expected in July. To be sure, the analyst risks to his bullish outlook, including headwinds from the Chinese market and currency volatility. “A strengthening of the USD would pose a threat to our ABI estimates, but note that GS economists think that there is further USD weakness to come with a USD/EUR forecast at 1.20 and a fair value at 1.25,” he said. Despite Monday’s upgrade, shares ticked down 0.7% before the bell. Shares have surged more than 34% this year, more than erasing losses seen from 2024’s slide of 22.5%. BUD YTD mountain BUD, year to date Most analysts covering the stock are bullish. LSEG data shows that eight of 10 analysts have a buy or strong buy rating on AB InBev. The average analyst price target also pimples upside of more than 8%.
