Next PLC's (LSE:NXT) share price target was slashed by over 17% by Deutsche Bank Research, though they are still rated as a 'buy'.
The target price was trimmed heavily to 7,850p from the previous 9,250p, with the shares currently changing hands at just over 6,000p.
The German investment bank points to Next’s medium-term stance as something that should pique the interests of investors.
“For many years Next operated its business very effectively on a 'marginal gains' philosophy with many small steps being taken to manage the business and evolving to the external market conditions," wrote analyst Adam Cochrane.
In his view, the creation of Next's Total Platform, an online host for other brands akin to Asos, was the turning point in Next's outlook, according to the analysts, as the London listed company “realised its investments and expertise could be monetised with other brands beyond the brand aggregator model".
The medium-term outlook is therefore now a lot more important for the company and investors as “investment in technology and logistics will be larger and the income stream derived over a longer period”.
Ultimately, the broker believes Next offers “larger growth prospects and is more defensive than it is given credit for", but the cost of living crisis is simply too significant to ignore when deciding on a target price, hence the target reduction but positive recommendation.