Analyst Says Vail Resorts Can Sustain Epic Pass Growth, Coexist With Ikon

Vail Resorts, Inc. MTN is seeing some good feedback from a new analyst report.

The Analyst

KeyBanc analyst Brett Andress maintained an Overweight rating and raised his price target from $240 to $250.

The Thesis

KeyBanc’s annual passholder survey of over 5,000 skiers gave the firm confidence Vail Resorts has the ability to post sustained Epic pass growth and coexist and grow alongside Ikon.

“With a dynamic 2018/19 ski season almost in the rear view, investor focus now shifts to MTN’s ability to post sustained Epic pass sales momentum. Our survey points to +LDD N.A. dollar growth in our definition of the ‘core,'” Andress wrote in a note.

The analyst expects North American pass dollars to grow low double-digits for the full selling season ending in November, and highlights that the cadence of reported pass growth likely comes later in the selling period as Epic comps very strong early Military growth and Epic for Everyone ramps into the fall.

Andress says the firm's findings were slightly above reset expectations of late.

“Looking ahead, we see upside from recent acquisitions and the potential for an extended ski season to drive strong early pass purchases given favorable F2H19 weather along with a rather large runaway around M&A, particularly internationally and via new partnerships," he wrote.

Price Action

Vail Resorts stock traded around $218.35 Monday afternoon.

Related Links:

Baird Names Canada Goose A 'Fresh Pick' Ahead Of Q3 Print

Columbia Capitalizes On Cold Weather With Strong Q4 Earnings: The Sell-Side Reacts