What Happened?
Shares of auto parts and accessories retailer Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP) jumped 2.7% in the afternoon session after Morgan Stanley raised its price target on the stock.
The investment firm lifted its price objective to $60 from $55, suggesting increased confidence in the auto parts retailer's value. It is important to note, however, that the analyst maintained an 'Equal-Weight' rating, which is a neutral stance. This action is part of a broader trend, as other firms like Mizuho, Evercore ISI Group, and Wells Fargo have also recently raised their price targets while maintaining neutral-equivalent ratings. This pattern suggests a cautiously optimistic sentiment from Wall Street regarding the company's future performance.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $63.46, up 3.9% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Advance Auto Parts’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 36 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 6 days ago when the stock dropped 4.3% on the news that a significant downward revision of U.S. job creation data raised concerns about the health of the economy.
The Labor Department reported that employers added 911,000 fewer jobs from April 2024 through March 2025 than initially estimated. This revision brings the average monthly job gains during that period down significantly, suggesting a cooler labor market. The downgrades were widespread across various service sectors. The largest revisions were seen in leisure and hospitality, which added 176,000 fewer jobs than first reported, followed by professional and business services and retail. Such data is closely watched by investors and economists as it can influence the Federal Reserve's decisions on interest rates.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon added that the U.S. economy is "weakening," though he stopped short of predicting a recession. "Whether it's on the way to recession or just weakening, I don't know," he said. Dimon's remarks are closely watched, given his influence as head of one of the nation's largest banks.
Advance Auto Parts is up 31.8% since the beginning of the year, and at $63.46 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $66.50 from July 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Advance Auto Parts’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $404.50.
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