These reports, excerpted and edited by Barron's, were issued recently by investment and research firms. The reports are a sampling of analysts' thinking; they should not be considered the views or recommendations of Barron's. Some of the reports' issuers have provided, or hope to provide, investment-banking or other services to the companies being analyzed.
Penske Automotive Group -- PAG-NYSE Buy -- $165.01 on Feb. 11 by Seaport Research Partners Penske reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.91, which compares with our/consensus estimates of $3.11/$3.09, respectively. Total revenue was actually 2% ahead of our forecast, as we had more than accounted for the company citing premium brand weakness in both the U.S. and United Kingdom due to pull-forward activity in the U.S., a well-documented weak U.K. operating environment, and Jaguar Land Rover weakness stemming from the cyberattack earlier in the year. Likewise, overall gross profit was 3.7% ahead of our forecast, as new gross profit per units remained strong, more than offsetting a sequential decline in used GPUs. The primary factor was higher-than-expected selling, general, and administrative expenses to gross profit -- likely a function of both greater-than-expected deleveraging and higher absolute spending. At our estimated SG&A to gross profit of 72.2%, EPS would have been $0.21 higher -- essentially right in line with our EPS forecast. Price target: $170.
Vertiv Holdings -- VRT-NYSE Outperform -- $199.62 on Feb. 11 by Evercore ISI Digital infrastructure provider Vertiv reported another strong quarter, with revenue growing 22.7%, led by product revenue, which was up 23.3% year over year, and services, also up nicely (20.2% Y/Y). But the real headline was orders, with orders accelerating -- increasing about 252% Y/Y and about 117% quarter over quarter and backlog of $15 billion with book-to-bill at about 2.9 times....Net/net: We think Vertiv is not simply benefiting from AI infrastructure spending but structurally embedded in it. With deep collaborations across hyperscalers and semiconductor leaders, accelerating order momentum, and record backlog providing multiyear visibility, we think the company is positioned well for sustained outsize growth into 2026 and beyond. Target price/base case: $210.
Freshworks -- FRSH-Nasdaq Outperform -- $8.73 on Feb. 11 by Oppenheimer Business software provider Freshworks delivered a good fourth-quarter 2025. The quarter strength was driven by momentum across the employee experience business and AI products. Fourth-quarter 2025 results also show a record gross margin, and the top-line outperformance flowed through to higher profits....Bottom line: Freshworks is showing good consistency in revenue growth and profit margins, and generating a lot of cash. In our view, the latter supports management instituting greater capital returns to shareholders, given low multiples and a strong balance sheet. We reiterate our Outperform rating and lower our price target to $15 from $18 on lower peer group multiples.
Cloudflare -- NET-NYSE Buy -- $206.35 on Feb. 10 by BTIG Internet services provider Cloudflare delivered exceptional fourth-quarter 2025 results and provided an initial 2026 growth outlook that was well above expectations. Most notably, Cloudflare posted revenue of $614.5 million/33.6% Y/Y in fourth-quarter 2025 versus our estimate of $589.2 million/28.1% and the Street at $591.3 million. This was also above the upside scenario of $602 million/30.5% that we previewed on Feb. 4. In addition, it represented the largest percentage beat against guidance since 2021....We increased our 2026 revenue estimate by 4% to $2,792 million/29% and our 2027 estimate by 5% to $3,508 million/26%. We also increase our price target to $243.
$Vornado Realty Trust(VNO-N)$ -- VNO-NYSE Neutral -- $31.84 on Feb. 10 by Piper Sandler Our concerns about Vornado's capital plans took a breather following the company's recent earnings call, as management kept its flexibility up front, while also reminding folks that the earnings ramp occurs over years. Our focus on the single fourth-quarter dividend declaration remains, as we view the payment as an indication of the fiscal health of a real estate investment trust, while also a key component of generating total return. Alas, we estimate that Vornado has $1.5 billion of capital outlays over the next five years, with about $600 million relating to the four million square feet of recent leasing. Interestingly, Vornado's capital outlay for Manhattan's 350 Park Ave., which it intends to exercise its call option, is about $300 million, as its land contribution counts toward its commitment. CEO Steve Roth's focus on the "stupid cheap" stock suggests that more buybacks are in order....We think it's hard to justify other uses of excess capital at these levels. Price target: $36.
General Motors -- GM-NYSE Buy -- $80.68 on Feb. 10 by Benchmark Equity Research We are increasing our price target to $90 from $65 to reflect General Motors' stronger-than-anticipated execution in 2025. Our thesis has been for GM to deliver disciplined pricing, sustained tariff mitigation, a more rational electric-vehicle cadence, and a steady rebuild of North American margins; and the stock has meaningfully rerated as these expectations have been met across successive quarters.
GM has now delivered on the operational, strategic, and capital return milestones, including tighter cost control, improved mix, accelerating EV-loss reduction, and consistently robust automotive free cash flow, all of which have supported a strong equity performance.
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February 13, 2026 18:14 ET (23:14 GMT)
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