** Shares of Columbia Sportswear up 1.3% at $77.15 premarket after Stifel upgrades to "buy" from "hold"
** Brokerage boosts PT by $8 to $92, implying ~21% upside to stock's last close
** Stifel said upgrade is opportunistic, citing high potential for positive rev surprise beginning FY4Q and into FY25
** Beginning FY4Q, COLM will lap order cancellations, uncooperative weather, and DTC (direct-to-consumer) declines in yr ago period, Stifel said in note
** Based on its analysis of sports and lifestyle brands equity valuation creation variables, Stifel said COLM screens well, pointing to combination of co's balance sheet strength and low investor expectations
** Now, 2 of 9 brokerages rate COLM "strong buy", 5 have "hold" and 2 recommend "sell", per LSEG
** Median PT of $75.50 unchanged from a month ago, but up from $70 on Apr 8
** Through Fri close, COLM shares down ~4% YTD
(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)
((lance.tupper@thomsonreuters.com lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))
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