lear shares moved higher after TD Cowen analyst Itay Michaeli upgraded the auto parts supplier from Hold to Buy, and he raised his price target from $138 to $165, as reported by the articles.
Shares traded around $143 and were approaching a 52 week high near $145, with one headline noting a roughly 3 percent price change and a separate TIKR reference showing a $148 price target.
The upgrade followed a strong first quarter performance, with revenue rising 5 percent year over year to $5.8 billion and adjusted EPS of $3.87, a 24 percent increase and the highest quarterly EPS since the first quarter of 2019, as reported by the coverage.
Core operating earnings grew 10 percent to $297 million, and both of the company’s major segments posted margin improvements, giving analysts renewed confidence in the business’s operational trend.
Contract Wins China Momentum And Capital Returns
Lear secured a mid cycle wire harness contract with General Motors for a full size SUV platform, a win described in the coverage as a rare conquest that signals competitive strength in electrical systems.
CEO Ray Scott highlighted momentum in China, where the company secured $280 million in new business awards in a single quarter, exceeding the total China awards reported for all of 2025, with wins from Dongfeng, Geely, SAIC and BAIC set to launch as early as mid 2026.
The company also repurchased about $75 million in shares during the first quarter and is on pace for over $300 million in buybacks this year, a program the articles say supports earnings per share and investor interest.
Analysts noted Lear’s earnings per share rose roughly 61 percent over the past four years while the stock traded at valuation multiples below the S&P 500, a gap attracting renewed analyst attention and bullish outlooks cited in the reporting.
