What These 4 DocuSign Analysts Have To Say About Q4 Print

Shares of DocuSign Inc DOCU fell in the premarket on Friday, even after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings.

• Morgan Stanley analyst Josh Baer maintained an Underweight rating and price target of $48.
• JMP Securities analyst Patrick Walravens reaffirmed a Market Outperform rating and price target of $84.
• RBC Capital Markets analyst Rishi Jaluria maintained a Sector Perform rating, while raising the price target from $53 to $59.
• Needham analyst Scott Berg maintained a Hold rating on the stock.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

Morgan Stanley

• Although DocuSign reported strong fourth-quarter results that beat the consensus estimates, investors had expected the second RIF restructuring to flow to fiscal 2024 margins, Baer said.
• “Instead, FY24 margin outlook improved by only ~1% while rest of savings reinvested in R&D,” he added.

JMP Securities

• The company reported better than expected results and “generally in line to good” guidance, Walravens said in a note.
• “While DocuSign is in transition and facing a difficult macroeconomic environment, we continue to like this story for a number of reasons,” the analyst wrote. There is a “shift of investment from the sales organization to product development with a focus on using AI to help create smarter agreements and save customers time.”

RBC Capital Markets

• “DocuSign delivered in-line results with disappointing FY24 guidance,” Jaluria said.
• “FY24 billings guidance of 2% growth was in-line to slightly below expectations, but the bigger surprise was guidance implying muted margin expansion, as investors expected the cumulative ~20% reduction in the workforce since September to lead to a better margin outlook,” the analyst wrote. “Instead, management plans to reinvest in self-service / PLG and R&D in order to help turnaround the business / growth profile."

Needham

• “Expectations of macro pressures on both net new and expansion sales are pressuring initial FY24 billings guidance of 2% which we believe was disappointing versus prior commentary on a mid-single digit growth expectation,” Berg said.
• “On the positive side, relatively new CEO Allan Thygesen stressed a greater emphasis on product innovation which we believe will be a welcome development for DOCU shareholders seeking clarity on where the company's next growth leg comes from,” he added.

DOCU Price Action: Shares of DocuSign had declined by 12.76% to $56.19 in the premarket session on Friday.