Mattel Could Be A Good Way To Play With Positive Toy Industry Trends

After attending the Dallas Fall Toy Preview last week and visiting JAKKS Pacific and Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT) management in Los Angeles, BMO Capital Markets analyst Gerrick Johnson expressed his optimism on Mattel and the toy industry as a whole.

"The mood in the industry is upbeat after two strong years of growth and a good start to 2016," said Johnson, adding that the only industry concerns were minor: whether to ship to Sears/Kmart and if Hanjin shipments would be unloaded on time in wake of the bankruptcy.

Although investors have concerns about the state of retail and U.S. consumers, the toy industry is confident.

"Should the economy weaken and the consumer pull back on spending, parents tend to still spend money on their kids," said Johnson.

Johnson expressed an Outperform Rating with a $40 price target. At time of writing, shares of Mattel were trading at $30.717, up 1.6 percent.