James Gard: Each week, we look at one stock that is cheap or expensive and why. This week it's the turn of budget airline, Wizz Air, which has a 4-Star rating from Morningstar.
Wizz Air is a Hungarian airline that was founded in 2003. Now, it's one of the fastest-growing carriers in Europe, a challenger to the likes of EasyJet and Ryanair, which were original disruptors, when they first launched in the 80s and 90s. Wizz Air is headquartered in Budapest but listed in London in 2015 since when shares have risen around 230%. Despite this strong showing since IPO, Morningstar analysts think the shares still have some room to fly higher. They assign the shares a fair value of £68, around 35% higher than their current price.
Analyst Joachim Kotze say the shares offer an attractive entry point at current levels and that the company has the best growth outlook among European budget airlines. Its focus on Central and Eastern Europe is expected to be a headwind in the coming years as this region plays catch-up with Western Europe. But Wizz Air itself remains cautious about travel demand in the next six to nine months. Travelers are still booking later than normal, which makes forecasts hard to make and prices remain depressed across the industry. Still, our analysts think Wizz Air could end this financial year in the black.
For Morningstar, I'm James Gard.