3M Stock Falls. The CEO Has Been Too Successful. -- Barrons.com

Al Root

Sometimes stocks that go up just don't look as attractive anymore.

Deutsche Bank analyst Nicole DeBlase downgraded shares of material technology company 3M to Hold from Buy on Monday. She cut her price target to $178, down from $199.

There is nothing wrong with the business, the analyst says. The stock has just worked. Coming into the week, 3M stock had gained more than 60% since DeBlase upgraded it in July 2024.

"We credit much of this to 'the Bill Brown effect'; the company hired a well-known, well-respected industrial CEO with a strong track record of operational execution," wrote DeBlase.

Brown was hired to replace Mike Roman in March 2024. Before 3M, Brown had success running defense contractor L3Harris. He started at 3M on May 1, 2024, with 3M stock below $100 a share.

"Brown has since laid out a very credible 2025 to 2027 financial plan and provided regular updates to the investment community that indicate encouraging (and perhaps faster-than-expected) progress on the company's margin expansion journey," added DeBlase. "We now encounter very little pushback to our bullish view on 3M's margin opportunity."

For DeBlase, that all adds up to a fairly valued stock.

3M shares were down 2.6% in early trading at $163.19, while the S&P 500 was up 0.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2%.

Overall, 53% of analysts covering 3M stock rate shares Buy, according to FactSet. The average Buy-rating ratio for stocks in the S&P 500 is about 55%. The average analyst price target for 3M shares is about $179.

When Brown was announced as 3M's next CEO, only 5% of analysts covering the stock rated shares Buy. The average analyst price target was about $90.

The difference in those price targets works out to almost $50 billion in market value. What a difference new management made.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

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December 08, 2025 10:23 ET (15:23 GMT)

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