What happened
Fiverr International (FVRR 4.07%) just pulled its stock offering, and investors don't seem to like what that might imply. Meanwhile, the online marketplace for freelance services just won a stock upgrade on Wall Street, but one that comes with a surprisingly lower price target. At 3 p.m. EST on Thursday, Fiverr stock was down 7.3%.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
Fiverr investors got a couple of pieces of news today. The less significant one came this morning, when analysts at MKM Partners announced they are upgrading Fiverr shares from sell to neutral. Fiverr's business has seen employers spending more on ads to hire freelancers, and more freelancers are accepting the jobs offered.
But even MKM's previous sell rating had Fiverr stock valued at $260 a share, and with shares down 30% over the last two weeks already, that target price now looks way optimistic. Accordingly, while raising its rating on the stock, it cut its price target to $245, just a couple of bucks more than where it closed Wednesday night.
And just this morning, Fiverr announced it is withdrawing its planned stock offering, announced Tuesday, which would have raised anywhere from $700 million to $805 million in new cash for the company to use to fund its growth plans. The company cited Wednesday's market conditions (and presumably today's as well) in saying it's "not in the best interest of the company" to sell stock in the middle of a sell-off.
Now what
And that may be the worst news of all for investors. If Fiverr can't find enough new investors willing to pay 615 times projected 2022 earnings for Fiverr stock this week, maybe that valuation is as overpriced as it sounds.
