Ocado Group plc [OCDDY] Stock Forecast

A 'sell' recommendation on Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO) from JPMorgan has been removed, though the investment bank says the robot-warehouse specialist is not one of its top picks in a European internet sector where bond yields are a “key driver”. The investment bank sees a brighter outlook for the sector in 2024 based on improvements in profitability and cash flow, an expected fall in bond yields and increased merger & acquisition activity.

Ocado Group is applying its technology outside the online grocery space for the first time, making it the latest eGrocery company to expand beyond the category. The eCommerce technology company, which has up until now operated primarily in the grocery category, announced Wednesday (Nov.

Ocado Group is to provide robot fulfilment sorters at a distribution site for McKesson Canada, the country's largest pharmaceutical distributor. It is the UK group's first move outside of grocery and retail with Ocado to provide AI-powered software to operate the automated product pickers.

Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO) has “turned a corner,” with the risk/reward “skewed to the upside” while the non-grocery market offers a £55 billion opportunity. That is the view of analysts at Bank of America which reinstated coverage of the online food retailer today with a buy rating and 850p price target, offering 57% upside from current levels.

Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO) topped the FTSE 100 fallers on Monday, down 4.6%, after Barclays downgraded the stock to underperform from equal weight. It also slashed its price target to 430p from 680p.

Ocado Retail, the joint venture between its namesake parent company and Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LSE:MKS), has announced a new wave of price cuts across 500 of its products, marking the fourth set of reductions for the grocer since June. As part of its ‘Big Price Drop' initiative, Ocado has reduced the price, by an average of 8%, on branded products as well as ingredients like onions, parsnips, and rice.

Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO) reported an acceleration in growth from its UK retail joint venture with Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LSE:MKS) in the third quarter and said it still expects to report a full-year profit. Revenue from Ocado Retail was up 7.2% to £569.6 million in the 13 weeks to 27 August, up from 5% in the first half of the year.

Marks and Spencer investors will be paying attention to Tuesday's report on Ocado Retail, the joint venture with Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO), which broke into the black in the previous quarter and has been on a price-cutting push in recent months

Ocado Group PLC's (LSE:OCDO) retail profit margins are expected to be under pressure when it updates on third-quarter performance on Tuesday, 19 September, a statement that usually wholly focuses on its 50-50 UK joint venture with Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LSE:MKS).  The quarterly results come with the shares still elevated from the six-year low seen in the early summer thanks to rumours of potential bid interest from Amazon, though there has been nothing from either company on this.

British lender Natwest Group on Wednesday appointed supermarket chain Ocado's Richard Haythornthwaite to succeed Howard Davies as chair.

Ocado Group plc is a GB stock and trading under the symbol OCDDY

Ocado Group plc stock price is $16.12 today.

Yes, Ocado Group plc is a publicly traded company.