‘Back to the Drawing Board’: Zendesk Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley
2022.06.13 16:46
‘Back to the Drawing Board’: Zendesk (ZEN) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley
By Senad Karaahmetovic
Morgan Stanley analyst Elizabeth Porter downgraded Zendesk (NYSE:ZEN) to Equal Weight from Overweight after the company ended its strategic review and decided it will remain independent.
The downgrade call comes as the analyst sees fewer catalysts for shares in the near term.
“We see a key catalyst off the table and downgrade to Equal-weight as we look to for alternative near-term catalysts to drive material upside to shares,” Porter told clients in a note.
The three key factors that pushed the analyst to cut to EW are:
- Cheap is not an investment thesis;
- Exposure to cyclically sensitive end markets contributes to uncertainty;
- FY22 margin outlook implies material 2H ramp in a potentially tough environment.
The price target goes to $80.00 per share from $145.00 to reflect lowered FY22 and out year revenue estimates.
