M&S shares soar 45% in 3 months: What should investors do?

M&S shares almost halved in value in 2022 against difficult market backdrop, as consumers were forced to cut spending amid soaring cost pressures.

The high street giant’s shares had been on a downward trajectory since 2015 as investors mourned flagging sales, before bottoming out at the height of the pandemic in May 2020. 

M&S shares are now up nearly 17 per cent since the start of 2023 following a strong set of results after Christmas.

It’s the kind of turnaround CEO Stuart Machin and co-CEO Katie Bickerstaffe would have hoped for when they took the helm last year. 

But is this the start of a sustained comeback for the 139-year old retailer or is the recent rally destined to be short-lived?  

In 2019 M&S dropped out of the FTSE 100 for the first time in a clear sign of the retailer’s fading fortunes.

It had been battling slowing growth in its all-important clothing business, while its food division had also started to show signs of weakness.

Just a year earlier, former boss Steve Rowe and chairman Archie Norman outlined their five year strategy to ‘fix the basics’. 

Source of data and images: dailymail