03:20 PM EDT, 04/10/2025 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

We reduce our 12-month target by $8 to $33, on an EV/EBITDA of 6.7x our 2025 EBITDA estimate, below its five-year average of 7.9x. We cut our 2025 EPS view $0.49 to $2.42 and 2026's $0.19 to $3.32. Our Strong Sell rating reflects deteriorating industry fundamentals amid mounting macroeconomic headwinds. Declining consumer spending, falling manufacturing PMI, and lower industrial production signal continued pressure on packaging demand, while IP faces company-specific challenges. Significant operational inefficiencies led to a $350M earnings impact in 2024, and we see additional risks in its 80/20 strategy potentially losing market share to competitors. While we expect both IP and Packaging Corp. of America (PKG 186 **) to trade below historical averages given industry headwinds, we believe IP's current 15.4% discount to PKG will normalize toward historical levels (five-year average: 19.2%) as optimism around its ambitious 2027 targets fades, particularly given management's unrealistic $1.2B cost savings goal.