By Sam Boughedda
Shares of Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) were downgraded to Neutral from Buy by a Goldman Sachs analyst, with the price target raised to $21 per share from $16.
The downgrade is on the back of Utz’s earnings results, which saw its earnings and revenue top the analyst consensus estimate.
While the analyst said the results were solid, Goldman Sachs no longer sees sufficient room higher to keep a Buy rating on the stock.
"Management continues to execute well both behind its core business and recent acquisitions to drive a consistent beat-and-raise cycle with exceptional growth and margin delivery in 2Q22," said the analyst. "And while management raised its guidance today, we believe its full-year sales and EBITDA outlook may still prove conservative as it benefits from further distribution expansion and more resilient category dynamics."
Utz shares are down over 3% so far Friday but have gained more than 8% in 2022.
"Since we added UTZ to the Americas Buy List on June 16, 2022, it is up 45% (vs. S&P +15% and XLP +8%) and while we raise our price target on the back of 2Q results, we no longer see enough upside to maintain our Buy rating; we downgrade the stock to Neutral as a result," added the analyst.