Analysts Stocks

      Selected stock price target news of the day - May 22, 2023

      By Matthew Otto

       

      FL

      Foot Locker adjusted its annual earnings guidance down amidst falling sales. The company expects earnings for the fiscal year to be between $2 and $2.25 per share, a decrease from the previously estimated $3.35 to $3.65. This is also well below the $3.47 that analysts were predicting. The company’s fiscal year sales are also now expected to drop between 6.5% to 8%, compared to the prior expectation of a 3.5% to 5.5% decrease.

      Regarding future outlook, Foot Locker anticipates a 6.5% to 8.0% decrease in sales, including an approximately 1% decrease due to the extra week. Furthermore, it expects a gross margin of 28.6% to 28.8% due to more aggressive markdowns and higher shrink. Adjusted capital expenditures are expected to be around $305 million

      Foot Locker CEO Mary Dillon attributes this to a challenging macroeconomic environment that has led to softer sales, necessitating more aggressive markdowns to stimulate demand and manage inventory. These changes have resulted in the company’s forecast being lower than analysts’ already adjusted expectations.

      In Q1, Foot Locker reported earnings of 70 cents a share on revenue of $1.93 billion, less than the FactSet-surveyed analysts’ expectation of 76 cents a share on revenue of $1.99 billion. Same-store sales fell by 9.1%, higher than the anticipated 7.7% decline.

      Wall Street Action

      • Baird: Analyst Jonathan Komp maintains a Neutral rating, lowering the price target from $40 to $32.
      • JP Morgan: Matthew Boss also keeps a Neutral rating but reduces the price target from $48 to $38.
      • Citigroup: Paul Lejuez downgrades Foot Locker from Buy to Neutral, with a lower price target of $30, down from $48.
      • Barclays: Analyst Adrienne Yih retains an Equal-Weight rating and decreases the price target from $42 to $31.
      • Telsey Advisory Group: Joseph Feldman maintains an Outperform rating while reducing the price target from $50 to $36.
      • B of A Securities: Lorraine Hutchinson keeps a Neutral rating but lowers the price target from $45 to $36.
      • BTIG: Janine Stichter sustains a Buy rating but drops the price target from $53 to $42.
      • William Blair: Sam Poser downgrades Foot Locker from Hold to Sell, cutting the price target from $38 to $25.
      • Goldman Sachs: Kate McShane maintains a Neutral rating, lowering her price target from $37 to $29.
      • Evercore ISI: Omer Saad keeps an Outperform rating but decreases the price target from $60 to $45, a street high.
      • Deutsche Bank: Paul Trussell reduces the price target to $28.

       

      Looking at AnaChart we see that most analysts keep their right foot down on the stock beside few more reserved analysts such as Jay Sole of UBS and Adrienne Yih of Barclays

       

      BABA

       

      Alibaba Group has released last week its financial results for the quarter and fiscal year ending on March 31, 2023. Here are the key takeaways:

      On the earnings front, Alibaba posted a stronger than expected earnings per share (EPS) of RMB10.71, exceeding the analyst consensus estimate of RMB9.46 by RMB1.25.

      However, on the revenue side, the company reported slightly less than expected. Alibaba announced revenue of RMB208.2 billion for the quarter, which was slightly below the consensus estimate of RMB209.02 billion.

      Alibaba Group has announced significant strategic changes to its organization. The board has approved a spin-off of the company’s cloud unit, which includes its AI arm. This move will be executed via a dividend distribution to shareholders.

      Additionally, Alibaba plans to start external financing for its global e-commerce arm and is considering initial public offerings (IPOs) for its smart logistics division and grocery arm within its core Chinese business. These steps are part of Alibaba’s effort to unlock value from its businesses and enhance market competitiveness.

      This move is part of a broader restructuring announced earlier this year, in which Alibaba aims to divide its business into six units. This is the most significant restructuring in Alibaba’s history and is intended to unlock shareholder value. In response to regulatory pressures on the Chinese tech sector since late 2020, this restructuring is also expected to foster greater market competitiveness.

      To further enhance shareholder value, Alibaba has set up a capital management committee at the board level responsible for implementing a robust capital management plan. CFO Toby Xu has reaffirmed Alibaba’s commitment to improving shareholder returns through this framework.

      However, despite these initiatives, revenue from the cloud division, which has built a rival to Chat GPT, fell short of expectations in the March quarter. It declined 2% YoY to $2.71 billion, which was below the $2.83 billion forecast by analysts.

      Wall Street Action

      Over the weekend,

       

      • Baird: Analyst Colin Sebastian maintains an Outperform rating but lowered the price target from $120 to $115.
      • Bank of America Securities: Eddie Leung maintains a Buy rating, but lowered the price target from $144 to $132.
      • Citigroup: Alicia Yap also maintains a Buy rating, with the price target adjusted down from $154 to $144.
      • HSBC: Analyst Carson Lo reiterates a Buy rating, lowering the price target from $143 to $140.
      • Benchmark: Analyst Fawne Jiang kept a Buy rating and a price target at $180.
      • HSBC analyst Charlene Liu has adjusted the price target to $140.

       

      Looking at AnaChart we see that all the analysts that are covering the Alibaba stock carry potential upside on the stock, a position maintained the entire time from 2021 while the stock lost two thirds of its value.

      KRYS

      Krystal Biotech has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for VYJUVEK™ (beremagene geperpavec-svdt), the first-ever redosable gene therapy for the treatment of Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa (DEB). Krystal Biotech expects VYJUVEK to be available in the US in the third quarter of 2023.

      DEB is a severe rare genetic disease affecting the skin and mucosal tissues caused by mutations in the COL7A1 gene, resulting in a lack of production of the type VII collagen (COL7) protein. Dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa is estimated to be 3.3 per million people. VYJUVEK is a topical gel that can be administered by a healthcare professional either in a clinic or a home setting.

      The company plans to begin the Marketing Application in the second half of 2023, with potential approval in 2024, and potential launch in Japan in 2025.

      Krystal Biotech also notified that it expects the gross proceeds from a new PIPE deal to be approximately $160 million.

      Wall Street Action

       

      • Guggenheim analyst Debjit Chattopadhyay maintains a Buy rating and has raised the price target from $101 to $130.
      • Goldman Sachs analyst Madhu Kumar keeps a Buy rating, lifting the price target from $135 to $155, a street high.
      • Chardan Capital analyst Geulah Livshits upgrades to a Buy rating, increasing the price target from $133 to $148.
      • HC Wainwright & Co. analyst Joseph Pantginis retarates a Buy rating, lifting the price target from $119 to $139.
      • B of A Securities analyst Alec Stranahan stays with a Buy rating, raising the price target from $105 to $118.

       

      Looking at AnaChart we see that the stock has grown nearly 900% since its IPO in 2017. All the analysts that were bullish without exception for the last six years . Joseph Pantginis from HC Wainwright  had the most consistent and realistic price targets given on the Krystal Biotec stock.

       

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