There’s even more downside for telecommunications stock Zoom Video , according to Citi. Analyst Tyler Radke lowered his price target on the stock to $72 per share from $76 per share and maintained a sell rating on the company, saying that a tougher macro environment and rising competition will hurt the company’s growth prospects. Radke’s new target implies downside of 17% from Tuesday’s close. “ZM’s post-COVID recovery, may continue to falter in Q3 as tightening IT budgets and a weaker macro outlook keep SMB new customer acquisitions low and churn elevated,” Radke wrote in a Tuesday note. “We see the hurdles from last Q holding, with rising competition (MSFT/Teams), macro-related weakness, and further margin risk from mix shift.” Shares of the one-time pandemic darling are down more than 50% this year after a rise in interest rates and inflation weighed on growth stocks. The stock dipped 2.2% in Wednesday premarket trading. The analyst cut his estimates for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2024, saying that some positives for the company, such as progress in its phone business, are not enough to offset the “downside risk to guidance and consensus estimates post Q.” According to the note, demand in the Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) is looking “bleak,” and growth from small businesses is slowing. “We further cut our estimates (Q4+ FY24), with revised revenue and FCF still 9% and 2% below the street in FY24. We forecast near flattish revenue growth next year with slight FCF growth,” Radke wrote. —CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
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