Weber ( NYSE: WEBR ) gave back some of the strong gain marked on Tuesday after Citi rated the stock at “Sell” on Wednesday.
“We have seen Weber ( WEBR ) sales unwind over the last several quarters as POS traffic has declined and as macro factors like inflation and geopolitical uncertainty have negatively impacted consumer demand,” Citi analyst Chasen Bender said. “With the macro headwinds still pressuring the global consumer, the demand environment looks uncertain and we believe that WEBR’s topline trends will continue to get worse before they get better.”
He added that the company remains heavily indebted, raising concerns about a need to raise capital. As such, he reduced his rating on shares from “Neutral” to “Sell”, while cutting his price target from $7 to just $2.75. The new target suggests about 67.5% downside for the stock from Tuesday’s close.
Shares of the Illinois-based grill manufacturer fell by as much as 7.5% on light volume in premarket trading on Wednesday before moderating losses, erasing nearly half of a 16.19% move upward amid Tuesday’s rally among heavily-shorted names .
For further details see:
Weber share slide after as Citi downgrades to ‘Sell’