Brazilian financial services company Inter is getting serious about profitability, and investors should jump in stock before shares rise, according to Goldman Sachs. Analyst Tito Labarta upgraded the stock to buy. His price target of $4.20 implies a 70% upside over Monday’s close. “We upgrade Inter to Buy, given increased focus on profitability,” he said in a note to clients Monday. Labarta said the Brazilian company has grown increasingly focused on profitability with a more thoughtful approach to growth, pricing and efficiency. He expects a small net profit in 2024 as, according to Labarta, the company will feel less impacts from inflation. The company should also benefit from the ongoing repricing of loans while having no deterioration to major assets, he said. He also highlighted the 5-year 30% return-on-equity target, which Labarta said is above his expectations but on the right track. He’s also optimistic because of the company’s “super” platform, which combines banking, investing, e-commerce and other services under one application. Within that, Labarta said credit can be a growth lever given that it’s is the largest profit pool for banks in Brazil, and Inter has the opportunity for further market share gain. Inter has between 1% and 2% of share in most markets, he said. There’s also what he called an “asymmetric” risk-reward ratio, with the recent sell-off of growth names creating, in his opinion, an attractive entry point. The stock lost 4.1% in 2022, which was its first year on the stock market. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
