Al Root

Shares of DuPont were rising early Thursday, partly because of an upbeat call from Wall Street, and partly because of the company's incredibly strong Kevlar fiber, used in bulletproof vests.

DuPont stock was up 1.1% at $73.75, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 0.3%.

Citi analyst Patrick Cunningham put a 90-day " catalyst watch" on DuPont stock, a designation used when a Citi analyst believes a stock will move up or down, soon. In this instance, Cunningham expects the stock to go higher: He rates the shares at Buy and has an $85 target for the price.

He is looking for a positive reaction to DuPont's coming second-quarter earnings, expected in late July. "We expect another strong performance in Semis, [electronics], Healthcare, and Water in the quarter, as well as DuPont to message less pronounced tariff impact," wrote Cunningham.

Wall Street is looking for earnings per share of $1.06, up from 97 cents a year ago. DuPont reported EPS of $1.03 in the first quarter, beating estimates of 95 cents.

Then there is the spinoff of the company's electronics business, slated for later this year. "We expect DuPont to disclose additional details, including financial pro-formas on the upcoming spin," the analyst. "We see opportunity for investors to become excited about the long-term strategy and revamped growth algorithm" for what will remain of DuPont.

Part of that is Kevlar, which the company describes as "a heat-resistant para-aramid synthetic fiber." Investors might not know the chemical structure, but they know it can stop some bullets. Kevlar's most famous use might be in body armor.

The Financial Times reported that private equity was interested in acquiring the Kevlar business. DuPont declined to comment on the report.

Deutsche Bank analyst David Begleiter asked if the Kevlar business was "core to the new DuPont" in May. CEO Lori Koch answered, "We would look to take complexity out over time.... start to reduce the end markets in which we play."

That might have indicated to buyers that DuPont was willing to accept bids.

The sale, spin, and catalyst watch could give DuPont stock a needed boost. Coming into Thursday trading, DuPont stock was down about 8% over the past 12 months.

Overall, 81% of analysts covering the company rate the shares at Buy. The average Buy-rating ratio for stocks in the S&P 500 is about 55%. The average analyst price target is about $87.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

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July 03, 2025 09:18 ET (13:18 GMT)

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