Analysts Downgrade Rating On Qualtrics Post Takeover Deal; View Competing Bid At Higher Price Unlikely

  • Raymond James analyst Brian Peterson downgrades Qualtrics International Inc XM from Outperform to Market Perform.
  • Silver Lake and CPP Investment agreed to take over Qualtrics for ~$12.5 billion cash at $18.15 per share
  • The takeout price represents a 74% premium to the unadjusted share price preceding SAP SE's SAP announcement on January 26 that it was exploring the sale of its stake in Qualtrics. 
  • Peterson believes the takeout multiple at 7x CY23 revenue represents a fair takeout transaction when comparing comparable and recent transactions. 
  • Given the low appetite for M&A from potential strategic buyers, the analyst also views a competing bid at a higher price as unlikely. 
  • The deal will likely close in the second half of 2023, and shares currently trade at a 3% discount to the proposed takeout price.
  • JMP Securities analyst Patrick Walravens downgrades Qualtrics from Market Outperform to Market Perform.
  • While the analyst continues to like Qualtrics as he believes it offers an excellent product set for experience management and addresses a large TAM that the company estimates to be ~ $60 billion, he views the odds of a superior proposal to be low given the no-shop clause in the Merger Agreement and see shares as fairly valued.
  • Walravens maintains his 2023 non-GAAP EPS estimate of $0.22 (consensus $0.22) on revenue growth of 14% and 2024 non-GAAP EPS estimate of $0.34 (consensus $0.31) on revenue growth of 14%.
  • Piper Sandler analyst Brent Bracelin downgrades Qualtrics from Overweight to Neutral with an $18.15 price target.
  • Price Action: XM shares traded lower by 0.17% at $17.64 on the last check Tuesday.
  • Photo Via Wikimedia Commons
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