Shore Capital downgrades Next to 'hold', pauses for breath

(Sharecast News) - Shore Capital downgraded clothing and homeware retailer Next on Tuesday to 'hold' from 'buy' as it said it was a premium company, but at a premium valuation. It noted that following another very strong quarter, Next has seen its share price rise to around £143, now up nearly 50% since the start of the year following four upgrades to FY26F guidance.

"While we remain firm fans of the company under Lord Wolfson's excellent leadership, with the current strength of the shares and high valuation premium (CY26F PER of 18.5x) we take pause for breath and downgrade our recommendation to hold with a raised fair value of 14,750p (up from 14,000p)," the broker said.

"To be clear, this is not a top-slice stance but rather a case that we would no longer suggest an increase in holdings with shares priced at the current level."

Shore Capital also said on Tuesday that it was lifting its FY26 revenue forecast to £6.7bn from £6.6bn and its pre-tax profit forecast to £1.14bn from £1.11bn.

At 1355 GMT, Next shares were down 0.5% at 14,239.44p.