An expansion in the US makes tobacco company Philip Morris International a buying opportunity for investors, according to Goldman Sachs. Analyst Bonnie Herzog upgraded the shares to buy from neutral, saying the launch of a range of smoke-free electronic cigarette products in the US will drive growth for the company. Herzog wrote Wednesday, “We see a more favorable risk/reward as we expect PM’s long-term growth to accelerate 1-2 points over the next several years, a key driver being the roll out of IQOS. ” Comment. The Iqos device heats the tobacco instead of burning it. In doing so, users get a rush of nicotine from tobacco, but do not ingest as many toxins as they would when smoking a traditional cigarette. “We conducted an in-depth analysis of the US nicotine market (which gives rise to PM [total addressable market] up to 60% and, in our base case scenario, we believe PM can comfortably reach 10% of the US flammable and non-flammable market by 2030,” Herzog said. The analyst with Swedish pointed to the tobacco company deal.Match, which “unlocks access for the PM to the world’s largest and most lucrative nicotine market.”The company has leading positions in two of the three key smoke-free categories in the US In addition, Echos is allowed to sell a menthol version of its product and could pick up new consumers as regulators crack down on other tobacco products that use that flavor. After growing more than 12% in 2022, Philip Morris shares have been little changed this year. Nevertheless, the analyst raised his price target from $25 to $120, meaning shares could climb nearly 18% from Tuesday’s closing price. The tobacco stock rose 1% in Wednesday premarket trading. was higher. The stock was upgraded to buy by Jefferies last week. -CNBC’s Michael Bloom Contributed to the report.