CNBC

Ferrari's renewed focus on high-end clients is a "game changer" for its valuation said Societe Generale on Wednesday, as the French bank raised its price target for the stock by almost 40 percent. Italy's most famous supercar maker first listed on the New York Stock exchange in October 2015 with an Initial Public Offering (IPO) price of $52. At Tuesday's close the stock was worth $128.95. After long questioning the stock's value, the bank said they have now changed their mind, upping their price target for the luxury car manufacturer of $130 from $94 and shifting their recommendation from "Sell" to "Hold". "The facts have changed and so we have changed our mind on Ferrari," read the note penned by equity analyst Stephen Reitman.

Reitman argued that Ferrari's initial plan to reach its 2022 sales target by turning to the SUV market would be difficult because of widespread competition. He added that any "dash for growth" could risk damaging the brand's exclusivity. That strategy was put in place by former CEO Sergio Marchionne who died in July this year following surgery. His successor, Louis Camilleri, updated markets in September with a new earnings target range for 2022 of between 1.8 and 2 billion euros ($2.1 -2.3bn). That represented a slight pull back from Marchionne's 2-billion-euro figure, but Reitman said that while the target numbers were largely unaltered, the company strategy has now changed. "The new mid-term plan broadly repeats the key financial objectives laid out in February, but the way Ferrari plans to achieve them appears to have fundamentally altered," he said.

Ferrari unveiled two new car models on September 18 2018. They are titled the Monza SP1 and Monza SP2.