By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com — Shares of Harley-Davidson Inc (NYSE:HOG) are up 2.6% Tuesday following an upgrade from Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Morgan Stanley analyst Billy Kovanis.
The analyst upgraded Harley-Davidson to equal weight from underweight. While he also increased the price target, it was only by $1 to $40 from $39.
Kovanis told investors in a note that they are "positive on the turnaround of Harley Davidson from a margin standpoint and see the risk reward as more evenly skewed at today's share price."
However, he added they remain cautious about the company's ability to drive sustained revenue growth in the long term.
Commenting on the spun-off electric motorbike brand, LiveWire, the analyst stated the spinoff removed a "key growth lever," but the company has "found a way to crystallize value for the business and is still able to share in the upside of LiveWire via its 74% stake in the entity."
"We see secular risks around declining industry motorcycle sales. We believe that new competition will enter the EV bike segment."