By Senad Karaahmetovic
JPMorgan analyst Matthew Boss slashed the rating on Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) to Neutral from Overweight with a $30.00 per share price target (down from $63.00).
The downgrade move comes after Boss cut the Q2 EPS estimate to $0.49, which is much lower than the Street consensus of $0.64. The FY23 EPS forecast goes to $3.30 while consensus is at $4.90.
“We see our below-Consensus model as a reasonable baseline for the multi-year “E”, noting incremental downside potential risk in a FY23 consumer-led recession scenario,” Boss wrote in a note.
The analyst further explained:
“We see 2Q AUR tracking down 4% Y/Y by our work (commensurate with 1Q and below mgmt’s sequential improvement expectation) with our model now embedding - 4% AUR contraction for FY22 – below mgmt's “Flat” 2022 AUR growth Y/Y assumption (see our full analysis and fieldwork below) and raising risk to mgmt’s +low-single-digit 2Q and FY22 revenue growth forecasts YOY.”
As a result, shares of the company are down over 4% in pre-market Wednesday.