VRSK - BofA downgrades Verisk sees slowing sales growth against strong 2023

2024-01-08 08:13:54 ET

Shares of Verisk Analytics ( NASDAQ: VRSK ) fell over 1% premarket on Monday after BofA said it sees likely slowing sales growth for the data analytics provider against a strong 2023 and downgraded it to Neutral from Buy.

The brokerage, which also cut price target on the stock to $260, said it expects Verisk to have limited margin upside due to its investment in artificial intelligence. BofA lowered its margin target to 55.3% from 56.2% for the New Jersey-based firm.

“We think Verisk’s defensive business model justifies a premium multiple to peers, but we think there are other Info Services stocks with more upside catalysts near-term,” BofA said, adding that investors are shifting more towards cyclical from defensive stocks amid 2024 rate cut.

Seeking Alpha analysts and Seeking Alpha’s Quant ratings are cautious on the stock and consider it a Hold, while Wall Street rated it Buy. The stock has gained over 30% in the last one year.

Earlier in November, the company beat quarterly revenue and profit due to resilient demand for its data analytics tools from insurers.

More on Verisk

• Verisk Analytics: Maintained Full Year Guidance; Still Rich Valuation; 'Hold' Rating
• Tudor Investment opens new Seagen, AbbVie bets; exits Immersion, Lennox
• Verisk Non-GAAP EPS of $1.52 beats by $0.05, revenue of $677.6M beats by $14.79M

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