By Al Root
Shares of truck broker and third-party logistics provider C.H. Robinson Worldwide have had a rough few weeks, beset by all sorts of problems from artificial intelligence to Amazon.com to the Supreme Court.
Recent declines have made shares look more attractive to a couple of Wall Street analysts.
The problems started in February when a small company, Algorythm Holdings, said its AI tools could organize shipping better than traditional truck brokers. C.H. Robinson shares dipped 14%.
Wall Street didn't believe the claims, and C.H. Robinson is adopting AI tools to improve efficiency. Barron's picked the stock at about $187, believing the decline was overdone.
Shares declined 4% after better-than-expected first-quarter earnings reported on April 22. Then shares dropped 9% on May 4 after Amazon announced it was opening up its Supply Chain Services business to any company. Amazon is a risk, but one that Wall Street doesn't see upending the industry.
Shares dipped 2% on Thursday after the Supreme Court ruled in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport that third-party logistics companies could be held liable for safety problems with the truckers they contract with.
"The Supreme Court's ruling against C.H. Robinson Worldwide in the Montgomery case on Thursday is likely to pose a near-term challenge as it adjusts operations," wrote Citi analyst Ariel Rosa. "But taken to its logical conclusion, the additional complexity and broker liability associated with the SCOTUS decision appears likely to advantage (1) asset-based carriers, and (2) large brokers over small brokers."
Rising cost of doing business tends to drive out marginal, smaller players.
Rosa upgraded shares of C.H. Robinson to Buy from Hold. His price target is $199 a share.
JPMorgan analyst Brian Ossenbeck added C.H. Robinson to the firm's Analyst Focus List after the ruling. He rates shares Buy and his recent price target was $196.
C.H. Robinson stock was up 3.6% at $165.46 on Friday. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 1.1% and 0.9%, respectively.
Ossenbeck said the ruling will result in higher compliance costs, driving out smaller players and leaving larger companies, such as C.H. Robinson, with more market share and pricing power.
"Well capacitized, high-compliance asset players gain most," wrote TD Cowen analyst Jason Seidl in a Friday note. He likes Knight-Swift Transportation. "Large, compliant brokers should also benefit via share-gain from industry consolidation, but insurance self-retention, and premium changes could meaningfully impact P&L as [the] risk profile comes to resemble asset players."
The big can benefit from the Scotus decision. While that seems counterintuitive, it is Wall Street's view.
Seidl rates C.H. Robinson stock Hold, but he has the same price target as Ossenbeck. Overall, 58% of analysts who cover shares rate them Buy. The average Buy-rating ratio for stocks in the S&P 500 ranges from about 55% to 60%. The average analyst price target for C.H. Robinson is about $199.
Seidl's price target for Knight-Swift is $78. The average analyst price target is about $72, and 67% of analysts covering the stock rate shares Buy.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com
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May 15, 2026 10:19 ET (14:19 GMT)
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