UPDATE: Goldman Sachs Upgrades Expeditors International of Washington to Buy, Raises PT

In a report published Friday, Goldman Sachs Group upgraded its rating on Expeditors International of Washington EXPD from Sell to Buy, and raised its price target from $34.00 to $42.00. Goldman Sachs noted, “We upgrade EXPD stock to Buy from Sell and add it to our Conviction List while raising our EPS forecasts for 4Q12 and 2013 on better-than-expected airfreight and shipping volumes. Global trade flows appear to be bottoming, as demonstrated by HACTL and Chinese port throughput where growth rates have accelerated, up 6.3% and 9.3% yoy. We expect EPS to rebound in 2013E after a mid-cycle correction in 2012E. Since addition to the Sell list on July 12, 2012, the stock has underperformed our coverage universe and the S&P 500 by 2.9% and 11.1%. The stock underperformed the S&P 500 by 38% over the past 12 months.” Expeditors International of Washington closed on Thursday at $35.78.