THG PLC (LSE:THG) shares were steadier on Friday after Jefferies reiterated its buy rating and kept a 55p price target, implying about 24% upside from current levels.
The broker said its latest pricing analysis pointed to firm competitive positioning across the group’s core Beauty and Nutrition divisions during the crucial Black Friday trading period.
Jefferies’ proprietary “Price Tracker” work showed Lookfantastic once again offering the best value in its Beauty basket, with promotional prices coming in cheaper than Boots by around 4%, Sephora by 7% and Amazon by 20%.
Cult Beauty also performed well, matching Boots on price despite its more premium profile.
Jefferies said Amazon’s higher pricing underscored the importance of strong brand relationships, noting that suppliers likely supported some of the deeper discounting across specialist platforms.
Inflation was trickier to assess during such a promotional week, but the broker said most Beauty items were unchanged at full price versus early 2025, pointing to very mild cost pressure.
Jefferies argued that Lookfantastic’s and Cult Beauty’s strong showing during Black Friday is “supportive” for THG’s ongoing recovery, especially given the improving UK demand that the company highlighted earlier this year.
In Nutrition, Myprotein continued to stand out as the best-value option in the broker’s basket, both for standard whey and whey isolate products.
Although promotional activity has been volatile around Black Friday, Jefferies said Myprotein and Bulk Powders consistently offered the sharpest pricing.
As with Beauty, the underlying “full price” levels for most key lines have barely moved since early 2025. THG had already reported 10% growth in the third quarter and guided to double-digit momentum in the second half, which Jefferies said was being helped by Myprotein’s ongoing offline expansion.
Jefferies said the group had faced tough headwinds this year, including higher whey prices, tariffs and costs linked to its demerger, alongside the upfront investment needed to sharpen Nutrition pricing.
Even so, the broker said the evidence now pointed to building momentum, with both Beauty and Nutrition heading into FY26 in good shape.
“FY26 should be the year THG demonstrates its potential,” the analysts wrote, saying they expect robust growth across the group and a “year of strong cash generation”. The shares have risen around 80% over the past six months, but Jefferies still sees further upside.
The shares were up 1% at 44.84p.