What happened
Shares of WW International (WW +0.00%) were soaring 17% higher in midday trading Thursday after the weight-loss leader reported first-quarter earnings that beat management's expectations.
So what
While WW reported a GAAP loss of $0.26 per share, adjusted for restructuring costs, the loss came to $0.20 per share, much better than the $0.24 per share Wall Street expected.
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WW said the number of digital subscribers jumped 16% to a record 4.2 million, leading analysts to raise their price targets. Or, as Craig-Hallum analyst Alex Fuhrman said in increasing his target to $40 from $32 per share, "the worst is over, and it wasn't that bad." He maintained a buy rating on the stock.
Now what
Fuhrman wasn't alone in raising his outlook. DA Davidson analyst Linda Weiser raised her price target to $39 per share while also expecting fiscal-year 2021 earnings to now come in at $2.26 per share from $1.92 per share as management nudged its guidance for revenue and profits higher.
WW closed below $28 a share on Wednesday before reporting earnings but was trading at just under $32 a stub by noon, indicating analysts believed there was still 25% more upside to the stock.
