Article content
A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S keeps giving analysts reasons to reconsider their bearish views on its shares.
Sign In or Create an Account
or View more offersArticle content
The stock has surged nearly 60 per cent this year as a boost to freight rates from stronger demand and supply line disruptions has spurred the Danish shipping giant to upgrade its guidance twice over the summer. Maersk has also weathered concerns over fuel costs from the Middle East conflict, and the impact of United States tariffs.
Article contentWe apologize, but this video has failed to load.Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.We apologize, but this video has failed to load.Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.Article content
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Yet analysts broadly remain skeptical. Just one of 26 tracked by Bloomberg has a buy recommendation, with many questioning the durability of elevated freight rates and other tailwinds.
Article contentArticle content
Disruptions in the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz have benefited the container shipping industry by tying up vessel capacity and tipping the supply-demand balance in favour of shipowners. As carriers including Maersk resume Red Sea transits, that support is set to fade, with excess capacity seen to weigh on freight rates longer term.
Article contentArticle content
HSBC Holdings PLC analyst Parash Jain currently has the lone buy rating on the stock. He acknowledges that freight rate momentum is set to cool, but he sees Maersk as being better placed than other long-haul ocean shipping peers. They include Hapag-Lloyd AG and Cosco Shipping Holdings Co.
Article content
Key to this, Jain says, is the company’s diverse business mix that includes logistics and terminal services in addition to its ocean vessel operations. These have helped cushion earnings, leaving “Maersk as the sector’s highest-quality defensive cyclical,” Jain said in emailed comments.
Article content
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Elsewhere, Barclays PLC analysts led by Marco Limite on Monday said that the setup for Maersk’s earnings due in November is “extremely strong,” placing the stock on a positive catalyst alert.
Article contentRead More
- The Iran conflict is creating a new problem for Canadian investors
- Proposed shipping terminal could give Nova Scotia an economic boost
- Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Still, analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co, led by Alexia Dogani take a more bearish medium-term view. Following the second-quarter report, which included a guidance upgrade, Dogani called the current narrative on the stock “peak bullishness” and recommended caution, reiterating a price target the equivalent of about US$1,543, less than half of its current share price.
Article contentArticle content
“We see current earnings/freight rate levels as unsustainable,” Dogani wrote in an Aug. 31 note. “This strong cash generation near term is unlikely to lead to material shareholder returns as Ocean capex will need to rise to halt its capacity share loss, experienced over the past six years.”
Article content
Betting against Maersk has been a painful trade in 2026, with the shares trading around 25 per cent higher than the average 12-month target price among analysts tracked by Bloomberg.