LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Jefferies has upgraded Marks & Spencer Group and downgraded J Sainsbury in a note published on Thursday assessing the UK general retail sector.
The bank upped its recommendation on M&S to 'buy' from 'hold', despite the blue chip being hit by a major cyberattack.

Jefferies said: "The business continues to demonstrate strong fundamental growth in a buoyant UK consumer environment, buyside expectations for profit delivery in 2025/26 have moderated to more sustainable levels [and] we find no evidence at this stage that the cyberattack will impact medium-term share gains."

It also upped the price target, to 440p from 370p.

But it opted to cut Sainsbury's rating to 'hold' from 'buy', citing recent share price gains.

Jefferies said: "Our view of Sainsbury's market share opportunities in 2025/26 remains unchanged, but recent [share price] outperformance limits near-term upside.

"We continue to see Sainsbury's food space growth and elevated cost save programme offering space for earnings resilience this year.

"Our move to 'hold' entirely reflects the shares' recent outperformance, with our estimates and price target unchanged."

Jefferies has a price target of 300p on Sainsbury's.

As at 1330 BST, M&S was trading 2% higher at 380.5p, while Sainsbury's was nearly 1% lower at 286.4p.

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