Discount retail chain Five Below up after Truist upgrades to 'buy'

Shares of discount retailer Five Below FIVE.O rise 2.2% premarket at $176.95

Truist Securities upgrades stock to "buy" from "hold"; raises PT to $216 from $179

Brokerage notes Q3 as a "game changer" quarter for FIVE due to strong traffic and higher consumer spend, which "should make the sales growth far more sustainable than we previously anticipated"

"We believe that both improved merchandising and marketing can yield sustainable benefits to consumer awareness and store traffic," says Truist analyst Scot Ciccarelli

Morgan Stanley raises PT to $190 from $160; retains rating at "Equalweight"

Says encouraged by FIVE's solid execution of value offerings, price simplification and customer experiences

As of last close, stock up 65% YTD