By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com — Anaplan Inc (NYSE:PLAN) shares plunged 15% on Wednesday after its third-quarter earnings prompted a downgrade from Piper Sandler and several other firms to lower price targets.
Despite the company reporting a better than expected EPS and revenue, Anaplan revealed a widening GAAP operating loss compared to the previous year.
Piper Sandler analyst Brent Bracelin downgraded the stock to neutral from overweight, saying that the results were mixed, with Anaplan's revenue beat being overshadowed by decelerating billings and performance obligation growth metrics. In addition, Bracelin described PLAN's Q4 guidance as "tepid." As a result, he lowered the firm's price target on Anaplan to $48 from $77.
However, Piper Sandler wasn't the only one to lower the stock's price target, with KeyBanc, Barclays, UBS, Truist, Mizuho Securities, Goldman Sachs, Loop Capital, Wells Fargo, Cannacord, Morgan Stanley, and Jefferies all adding to the pressure on Anaplan shares.
Despite the multiple price target reductions, the comments on Anaplan weren't all negative. For example, despite dropping its target price to $70 from $80, Truist kept its buy rating, with analyst Terry Tillman telling investors they would "look past this glass half empty rhetoric and point to a variety of constructive/improving metrics," including new customer activity improving, relatively strong retention rates, and improved sales linearity.