FOUR - Shift4 Payments raised to overweight at Stephens; CEO defends amid short report

2023-04-20 09:32:27 ET

Shift4 Payments ( NYSE: FOUR ) was raised to overweight from equal-weight at Stephens as the analyst sees minimal validity to claims from a short report on Wednesday. Shift4 rose 1.9%.

Following a 12% declined in the past week, the risk/reward has improved "considerably" and the shares should revert to a 14x EBITDA multiple vs 12x current, Stephens analyst Charles Nabhan wrote in a note on Thursday. He sees the release of Q1 results and the closing of Finaro in Q2 as upcoming catalysts.

Shift4 Payments ( FOUR ) fell 8.7% on Wednesday in the wake of short report from Blue Orca.

Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman responded to the short seller report in a letter to holders.

"I don’t fault these cynics for trying to do their job, but they’ve got it wrong on FOUR and in many plain and obvious ways," Isaacman wrote in the letter.

Isaacman said he that he only purchased shares in 2022 and never sold stock on the market as the "it was implied." He said his stock count diminished as as a result of stock donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

He also said that he never received a margin call, even when the share price was at its lowest last summer.

Shift4 ( FOUR ) short interest is 17%.

Shift4 ( FOUR ) is scheduled to report Q1 results on May 4.

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