BofA Upgrades LVMH and Zegna to Buy; Kering Up 49% Over Three Months

June 5: BofA Upgrades LVMH and Zegna to Buy; Kering Up 49% Over Three Months
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End-of-week edition with analyst upgrades, Pace Gallery restructuring, and the week in review.
Tickers covered: MC.PA | ZGN | CFR.SW | UHR.SW | WOSG.L | BRBY.L

In this episode:

Analyst Upgrades
- BofA upgrades LVMH (MC.PA) to Buy
- BofA upgrades Zegna (ZGN) to Buy, price objective $8.90 (17% upside)
- BofA describes Zegna as "one of the more undervalued stories in luxury"
- Kering up ~49% over three months on recent upgrades
- LVMH up ~42% over three months, still below 52-week high of EUR 654.70

Zegna — Los Angeles
- Summer 2027 runway show staged in LA today
- Villa Zegna invitation-only private club opened in Hollywood

Pace Gallery — Market Signal
- Cutting ~50 artists from roster of 135, staff from 250 to 200
- CEO Marc Glimcher: mega-gallery model is "unfixable"
- Reflects pressure on primary art market and consignment pipelines

Week in Review
- Spring auction season: $1.8B across Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips in May
- LVMH (MC.PA): EUR 477, upgraded to Buy by BofA
- Richemont (CFR.SW): near record high CHF 161.80
- Watches of Switzerland (WOSG.L): up 14% on FY2026 earnings
- Swatch (UHR.SW): CHF 215
- Burberry (BRBY.L): delayed net zero target from 2040 to 2050
- De Beers: average diamond cost $4,063, up 25% from 2023
- Swiss watch exports to US: down 17% YoY in April
- Hong Kong luxury sales: up 20% YoY in April
- Neiman Marcus closing Dallas flagship (Saks Global Ch.11)
- Pace Gallery restructuring

Auctions Ahead
- Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels — June 9, New York
- Christie's watches — June 10, New York
- Bonhams watches — June 11, London
- Phillips watches — June 13-14, New York
- Sotheby's watches — June 15, New York
- Bonhams National Automobile Museum — June 13, Reno
- RM Sotheby's Tegernsee — July 4

Links:
- ALT/FNDATA: https://www.altfndata.com
- BofA LVMH and Zegna upgrades: https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/lvmh-shares-soar-as-bofa-upgrades-shares-to-buy-sees-15-upside-potential-3816526
- Pace Gallery restructuring: https://news.artnet.com/market/pace-gallery-downsizes-cutting-artists-and-staff-2778584
- Zegna LA runway: https://wwd.com/menswear-news/mens-designer-luxury/zegna-spring-2027-los-angeles-thom-browne-first-show-milan-fashion-week-1238638812/

Also from ALT/FNDATA:
- Open Bid — Mon-Fri at 6 AM ET
- Art Market — Tuesdays at 8 AM ET
- Luxury Spending — Wednesdays at 8 AM ET
- Auto Market — Thursdays at 8 AM ET

What is Closing Price — Daily Evening Equity Analysis on Luxury Market?

Closing Price is your end-of-day briefing connecting public equity markets to the global auction and luxury alternative asset markets. Three times a week, host Sharon Obuobi tracks the publicly traded companies behind the world's leading auction houses, luxury brands, and collector markets — with proprietary data from ALT/FNDATA.

Learn more about us at www.altfndata.com

CLOSING PRICE — Friday, June 5, 2026
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[INTRO]

Good evening. It's Friday, June the fifth. I'm Sharon, and this is Closing Price from ALT/FNDATA.

Tonight: we cover analyst upgrades for LVMH and Zegna, Pace Gallery's restructuring, and the week in review.

[ANALYST UPGRADES — LVMH, ZEGNA]

Bank of America has upgraded LVMH, ticker MC on Euronext Paris, to a Buy rating. The bank has also upgraded Zegna, ticker ZGN on the NYSE, to Buy with a price objective of $8.90. This represents a 17% potential upside. BofA describes Zegna as "one of the more undervalued stories in luxury," citing the brand's outperformance in developed markets.

Zegna staged its Summer 2027 runway show in Los Angeles today, accompanied by Villa Zegna, an invitation-only private club in Hollywood. The US has become a key growth market for the brand.

LVMH and Kering have both seen their stocks rally on the back of recent upgrades. Kering is up approximately 49% over three months. LVMH is up approximately 42% over the same period, though it remains well below its 52-week high of EUR 654.70.

[PACE GALLERY — MARKET SIGNAL]

Pace Gallery announced it is cutting approximately 50 artists from its roster of 135 and reducing staff from 250 to 200. Chief executive Marc Glimcher described the mega-gallery model as "unfixable."

Pace operates in New York, London, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, and Geneva. The restructuring reflects pressure on the primary art market — the same market that feeds consignment pipelines for Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips.

[WEEK IN REVIEW]

This was the first full week of the ALT/FNDATA podcast network. Here is where the key numbers stand heading into the weekend.

We’ve just concluded the spring auction season: $1.8 billion across Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips in May.

Luxury equities: LVMH was at EUR 477, upgraded to Buy by BofA. Richemont was near record high at CHF 161.80. Watches of Switzerland was up 14% on FY2026 earnings. Swatch at CHF 215.
and Burberry delayed its net zero target by a decade.

In market data, De Beers’ average diamond cost is at $4,063, up 25% from 2023. Swiss watch exports to the US were down 17% and Hong Kong luxury sales up 20% in April.

Looking ahead to upcoming auctions ahead: Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels June 9th. This is followed by a series of five watch auctions across Sotheby’s, Christie’s, Bonhams and Phillips from June 10th through 15th.

Bonhams presents an auction with National Automobile Museum on June 13th.

[OUTRO]

That is Closing Price for Friday, June the fifth.

I'm Sharon, from ALT/FNDATA. Open Bid returns Monday morning at six AM Eastern. Have a good weekend.