Northland analyst Owen Rickert upgraded Xponential Fitness to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $8, down from $9. Changes to Xponential's incentive plan accelerates the vesting of equity awards upon a change in control if the acquiring company does not assume the awards in publicly traded stock or comparable terms, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says Xponential's current executives could see "immediate value realization" from their equity in a transaction. Xponential's current market capitalization does reflect the possibility of a takeout transaction occurring, contends Northland. The firm sees a "high likelihood of success for a strategic alternative" following its regulatory disclosures yesterday.
