UBS analyst Eric Wasserstrom cut his rating on Square Inc. shares to neutral from buy Tuesday, writing that "deteriorating spending" during the COVID-19 outbreak represents a key risk to the company, especially since Square is heavily reliant on in-store purchases. "Whereas our prior thesis centered on our expectation that SQ's investments in 2020 would drive reacceleration of revenue growth and margin expansion in 2021...we no longer have conviction in that view in the context of currently devolving consumer spending trends," he wrote. Wasserstrom's $54 price target values Square's Cash App at $18 a share and the company's seller business at $36 a share. "These figures suggest that the current Square valuation may be pricing in the full value of Square Cash, even as it values Square Seller at a premium to merchant acquirers on the basis of Square Seller's faster medium term growth profile," he wrote. Square shares are up 2.6% in Tuesday morning trading to a recent $60.95. The stock has lost 11% over the past three months as the S&P 500 has fallen 14%. Read More...
UBS analyst Eric Wasserstrom cut his rating on Square Inc. shares to neutral from buy Tuesday, writing that “deteriorating spending” during the COVID-19 outbreak represents a key risk to the company, especially since Square is heavily reliant on in-store purchases. “Whereas our prior thesis centered on our expectation that SQ’s investments in 2020 would drive reacceleration of revenue growth and margin expansion in 2021…we no longer have conviction in that view in the context of currently devolving consumer spending trends,” he wrote. Wasserstrom’s $54 price target values Square’s Cash App at $18 a share and the company’s seller business at $36 a share. “These figures suggest that the current Square valuation may be pricing in the full value of Square Cash, even as it values Square Seller at a premium to merchant acquirers on the basis of Square Seller’s faster medium term growth profile,” he wrote. Square shares are up 2.6% in Tuesday morning trading to a recent $60.95. The stock has lost 11% over the past three months as the S&P 500 has fallen 14%.
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