UPDATE: Credit Suisse Initiates Williams-Sonoma at Neutral on Merchandising, Margin Weakness

Credit Suisse initiated coverage on Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM) with a Neutral rating and a $49.00 price target.

Credit Suisse commented, "WSM from 20,000 feet represents what an investor should want in a retailer. 50% of sales should be e-commerce driven by 2015 and the company is a strong play on housing. … So Why Neutral? Two reasons: (1) a lack of merchandising consistency, particularly in the Williams-Sonoma brand; and (2) FY 13 and 14 estimates already embed a rich 40 bps of margin improvement each year on top of current peak EBIT margins. This may hard to achieve, even given the growth of housing and related spending that we expect."

Williams-Sonoma closed at $44.90 on Monday.

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