Greater inflation and lower consumer spending have finally hit consumer electronics company Logitech , according to Loop Capital. Analyst Ananda Baruah downgraded shares of Logitech to hold from buy, with a $55 price target, saying that the company’s recent earnings miss shows fewer consumers are buying computer peripherals for gaming and work-from-home setups. “Moving to Hold from Buy as recession has made its mark at LOGI, impacting the consumer-centric segments and compelling LOGI to lower its FY2023 (March) guidance after FQ1 (June Q),” Baruah wrote in a Tuesday note. “Our best hunch is that it could take ~ 6 months for investors to structurally step back in for companies experiencing a material macro-impact, if we assume the market is two quarters forward looking,” Baruah added. Logitech enjoyed a boom during the pandemic as employees working remotely sought new equipment for their home offices. However, that boost has since faded on the back of rising inflation and supply chain challenges, as well as lower consumer confidence. Still, Logitech CEO Bracken Darrell told CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Tuesday that shoppers will buy electronics again in the fall after returning from their summer travels. “We remind investors that inflation (not employment) is currently the most gating macro factor. As such, if a material inflation impact is 12 months away, investors will begin to look at materially inflation impacted names around year-end,” Baruah wrote. —CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
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