What happened
On a lousy day for the stock market, Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) stock fared even worse. The home goods retailer saw its shares decline by over 9% Tuesday, on the back of a price target cut from a prominent investment bank.
So what
Before market open, Morgan Stanley analyst Simeon Gutman trimmed said price target on the stock, from $12 per share to $11. That doesn't change his outlook on its prospects -- he's maintaining his equal weight (neutral) recommendation. On Tuesday, the company's stock fell to just over $14 per share.
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The reasoning behind the move wasn't immediately clear. Regardless, Morgan Stanley has been a bigger bear on the company in the recent past. Last October, the price target saw a far more drastic cut, as it was chopped to $12 from $18. At the time, the investment bank also downgraded its recommendation to underweight (sell) from equal weight.
Now what
Times are tough these days in the retail industry, which is feeling the pressure both from reduced customer traffic in the wake of the omicron variant and supply chain issues.
Even without those additional headaches, though, Bed Bath & Beyond is struggling; across the past half-decade it has seen notable revenue erosion. From 2018 to 2021 its top line has declined every year, tumbling from just under $12.4 billion in 2018 to barely over $9.2 billion in the latter year. So investors looking for a turnaround story in the retail sector might do best by searching elsewhere.
