What happened
Zebra Technologies (ZBRA 1.81%) was hardly the most impressive animal on the stock exchange this week. According to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence, the company's share price slid by nearly 5% during the period. The finger of blame can be pointed squarely at its first-quarter earnings report.
So what
Zebra edged past analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines in said quarter, the figures for which it published on Tuesday. That wasn't the problem, however.
As investors typically look forward with stocks instead of gazing into the past, they were concerned more with the retail tech company's guidance.
Uncomfortably for them, Zebra reduced its outlook for the full year; it now anticipated a single-digit decline in net sales compared to 2022. Previously, it was guiding for a modest drop at best, if not a slight increase. Worse, it shaved at least $100 million off its forecast for annual free cash flow (FCF).
Now what
Analysts were quick to pounce on this, with a clutch of them reducing their price targets on Zebra stock in the wake of the earnings report.
One of the more aggressive reducers was Atlantic Equities' Richard Radbourne, who sliced $64 off his target to reach a new fair value estimation of $350 per share. His peer James Ricchiuti of Needham & Company also took out a pair of scissors, reducing his level to $340 from the preceding $385.
This doesn't mean that the prognosticators following the stock have become generally bearish on its potential, however. Both Radbourne and Ricchiuti, in addition to most of the post-earnings target cutters, maintained their equivalents of a buy recommendation on the shares.
