On Thursday, Craig-Hallum maintained a Hold rating on Fastly Inc . (NYSE:FSLY) and increased the price target to $8.00 from $6.00. The adjustment follows Fastly's recent earnings report, which surpassed expectations. The company's third-quarter performance was slightly better than anticipated, prompting a revision of the fourth-quarter outlook.
Growth in the gaming and live sports segments, along with faster-than-expected cost reductions, contributed to the sequential improvement observed in the third quarter. Despite this, Fastly has moderated its fourth-quarter expectations, suggesting that large media customers and typical end-of-year seasonality may not provide the expected boost.
The firm noted that while non-top 10 customers exhibited a robust 20% growth, there was a notable decline in the overall number of enterprise customers. This decrease is seen as a critical indicator of the company's effectiveness in refining its enterprise sales strategy.
Additionally, Fastly revised its free cash flow (FCF) burn guidance for the year, increasing the projected range from -$10 to -$20 million to -$30 to -$40 million. This change is attributed to higher-than-anticipated restructuring charges and smaller-than-expected working capital benefits.
Craig-Hallum concluded that the risk/reward balance for Fastly's stock remains unattractive. The company's top-line outlook is mixed, and it is currently navigating through a highly competitive market while striving to enhance its execution strategy.
In other recent news, Fastly Inc. has been the subject of several significant developments. The cloud platform company reported stronger-than-expected Q3 earnings and revenue, leading to an upward revision of its full-year guidance. Firms such as Piper Sandler, Baird, and Citi have responded by upgrading their price targets for Fastly, though they maintain a neutral rating. However, Raymond (NS:RYMD) James downgraded Fastly from a Strong Buy to a Market Perform status, citing better opportunities elsewhere.
Fastly also announced a restructuring plan that will reduce its workforce by approximately 11% as part of efforts to decrease expenses and streamline operations. This move follows the company's struggle with customer concentration risk, which led to a reduction in the company's full-year 2024 revenue forecast.
In addition to these changes, Fastly has updated its bylaws, including new proxy rules and additional requirements for stockholders proposing nominees or business.
InvestingPro Insights
Recent data from InvestingPro sheds additional light on Fastly's financial position and market performance. Despite the challenges noted in the article, Fastly has shown a strong return over the last three months, with a 19.3% price total return. This aligns with the company's better-than-expected third-quarter performance mentioned in the report.
However, InvestingPro Tips highlight that Fastly is not expected to be profitable this year, which corroborates the concerns raised about the company's financial outlook. The company's price-to-book ratio of 1.17 suggests that the stock is trading slightly above its book value, potentially indicating that investors still see some value in the company despite its current challenges.
It's worth noting that Fastly operates with a moderate level of debt and its liquid assets exceed short-term obligations, which could provide some financial flexibility as the company navigates its competitive market and refines its execution strategy.
For investors seeking a more comprehensive analysis, InvestingPro offers 10 additional tips for Fastly, providing a deeper understanding of the company's financial health and market position.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.