2203 GMT - Jefferies stays cautious about costume jewelry retailer Lovisa, even though it could beat expectations for its store network in 1H. Analyst John Campbell expects Lovisa had 1,088 stores at end-December. But the actual network size could be above 1,100 based on web searches. Jefferies is also upbeat about Lovisa's focus on more affluent countries. Still, it retains a hold call and A$32.00/share price target on Lovisa, which ended Tuesday at A$31.07. "In this challenged consumer environment in Australia, U.S. and Europe, we remain cautious on Lovisa in the short term," says Jefferies. It says maintaining industry-leading gross margins is more important than the store rollout. "This becomes increasingly challenging in a tough consumer environment in the face of significant cheap online competition," Jefferies says. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 27, 2026 17:03 ET (22:03 GMT)

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