Morgan Stanley Lowers WW International (NASDAQ:WW) to Equal Weight

WW International (NASDAQ:WW) was downgraded by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $1.25 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $6.50. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 5.30% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on WW. StockNews.com cut shares of WW International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of WW International from $12.50 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of WW International from $3.00 to $2.10 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WW International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.41.

WW International Price Performance

NASDAQ:WW opened at $1.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $104.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.47. WW International has a 1-year low of $1.09 and a 1-year high of $13.31.

WW International (NASDAQ:WW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $206.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.34 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that WW International will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WW International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Connectus Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in WW International during the 4th quarter worth $127,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of WW International by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 31,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 2,681 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of WW International during the 1st quarter valued at about $185,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of WW International by 229.7% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 113,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 79,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of WW International during the 4th quarter valued at about $993,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

About WW International

WW International, Inc provides weight management products and services worldwide. It offers a range of nutritional, activity, behavioral, and lifestyle tools and approaches products and services. The company also provides various digital subscription products to wellness and weight management business, which provide interactive and personalized resources that allow users to follow its weight management program through its app and web-based platform; and allows members to inspire and support each other by sharing their experiences with other people on weight health journeys.