RE: Huge bounce tomorrow, Peel Hunt re-iterate £15 sp target21 Jun 2024 07:29
YouGov working its issues out, says Peel Hunt
YouGov (YOU) has delivered a ‘very disappointing’ profit warning but Peel Hunt says it continues to address its issues.
Analyst Jessica Pok retained her ‘buy’ recommendation and target price of £15 on the survey and analytics group, which plummeted 40% to 488p on Thursday. It reported lower than expected bookings in first-half results and despite improvement in the second half, trading was slower than expected. It expects full-year operating profits to fall 38% this year.
‘This is a very disappointing statement from YouGov, given the company’s high visibility…at the interims,’ said Pok.
She said the share price fall since the interims -down a quarter - suggested the market was pricing in a downgrade. However, she said the downgrade is larger than she expected.
‘YouGov has been impacted by slower client spend and intensified competition for data products. Despite these challenges in the short term, the company is addressing the issues, and is focusing on investment in data product upgrades and artificial intelligence, sales organisation enhancement, and cost base reduction.’