09:55 AM EDT, 08/06/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Berenberg maintained its buy rating on Next plc (NXT.L) as analysts took note of the company's fiscal second-quarter trading update. The research firm said Thursday that the British retailer's second-quarter total full-price sales growth of 9.2% was ahead of the Visible Alpha consensus of 5.6%. The company's online international segment grew 36.9% in the quarter and 23.9% for the first half, against Next's initial forecast of 14.7%. "We think that M&A and recently discovered international online growth potential are the main drivers at Next and would not rule out positive momentum beyond the current year," according to the note. "However, a near-term newsflow risk to bear in mind could be warmer weather yoy in September, which could prove unhelpful for the start of the high-value autumn selling season - on the back of two helpfully cool Septembers in 2024 and 2025." Noting the company's 2% upgrade to its fiscal 2027 pretax profit guidance, Berenberg raised its EPS forecast by a "similar amount" for the same period. EPS projections for the subsequent fiscal years were also increased. Subsequently, the stock's price target was raised to 187 pounds sterling from 180 pounds.

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