UPDATE: Bank Of America Upgrades Staples On Strengths Magnified By Combination

In a report published Friday, Bank of America analyst Denise Chai upgraded the rating on

from Underperform to Buy, and raised the price target from $10.00 to $20.00. In the report, Bank of America noted, “We are upgrading SPLS to Buy from Underperform and raising our price objective to $20 (from $10) based on 9.5x 2015x EV/EBITDA which is inline with the hardline average of 9.6x. We are also raising our price objective on Buy rated ODP to $9.5 based on 6x 2015 EV/EBITDA (from $8 prior). Our current estimates for ODP and SPLS do not factor a combination but based on what ODP has achieved on its own, we think $1,500mn over three years is achievable. In the two scenario analysis tables below, we evaluate the potential accretion from the cost takeout from a SPLS-ODP combination.” Staples closed on Thursday at $16.10.