By Sam Boughedda
Uber (NYSE:UBER) shares gained in early Thursday trading after analysts at Piper Sandler and Jefferies provided positive commentary on the stock.
The analyst notes followed positive headlines for Uber, which included New York City issuing a revised wage proposal for app-based food delivery drivers and a report by Bloomberg that the company may consider divesting its Freight segment.
Uber shares opened the session at $34.4 after Wednesday's $34 per share close. They are trading at $34.17 at the time of writing.
Piper Sandler maintained an Overweight rating and $41 price target on the stock, with analysts stating that the firm believes divesting Uber Freight would be a good idea.
"There are some theoretical advantages to running a digital freight platform alongside Uber's better-known Delivery and Mobility segments. But in general, we think the Freight business makes more sense as a standalone entity," the analysts wrote.
Jefferies analysts told investors that the revised wage proposal should see smaller cost headwinds for Uber.
They added that Uber's "dominant scale and network effect support greater reinvestment into customer experience/adoption, which should spur frequency/stickiness and grow share over time. In addition, multiple product offerings and geographic diversity expand UBER's TAM while driving cross-sell opportunities and reducing macro risk."