Best Buy Shares Climb on Upgrade to "Buy" From Jefferies

Shares of Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) got a boost on Wednesday after an analyst from Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) upgraded the consumer electronics giant and expressed confidence in its ability to cut costs and stabilize the business.

Jefferies analyst Daniel Binder raised Richfield, Minn.-based Best Buy to “buy” from “hold” and its price target to $24 from $11. He also lifted his fiscal 2014 and 2015 EPS estimates.

“Ultimately this is a bet that new management will cut costs, bring better processes, discipline and measurement to the business, essentially fix what it has and stabilize the business,” Binder said.

While observers may not have all the information about Best Buy’s turnaround they would prefer, Binder said it is nevertheless clear that the company has reached an inflection point.

Best Buy last week said same-store sales, a measurement of sales at stores open longer than a year, climbed 0.9%, their biggest improvement in nearly three years.

Shares of Best Buy climbed nearly 3.5% on Wednesday afternoon to $19.05.