Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Downgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group to Sell

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) was downgraded by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Finviz reports. They currently have a $59.00 price objective on the technology retailer’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price indicates a potential downside of 5.32% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of Best Buy from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $96.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.10.

Best Buy Stock Performance

NYSE BBY opened at $62.32 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.80. Best Buy has a 1 year low of $57.25 and a 1 year high of $84.99.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The technology retailer reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $13.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.96 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 49.17%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.58 EPS. Best Buy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.300-6.600 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Best Buy will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In other news, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 42,869 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total transaction of $2,744,473.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 523,138 shares in the company, valued at $33,491,294.76. This represents a 7.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 11,356 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total transaction of $727,011.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 76,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,922,113.68. This trade represents a 12.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 77,247 shares of company stock valued at $4,945,353 over the last 90 days. 0.59% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Best Buy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BBY. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Best Buy by 69.3% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 337 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the third quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Best Buy in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Best Buy

Best Buy Co, Inc is a leading North American consumer electronics retailer that sells a broad range of products including computers, mobile phones, televisions and home theater systems, major appliances, smart-home devices, gaming hardware and software, wearables and related accessories. The company operates through a mix of large-format stores, smaller specialty locations and an e-commerce platform, offering national and private-brand merchandise from major consumer-technology manufacturers as well as third-party sellers.

Beyond product retailing, Best Buy provides a suite of services aimed at installation, repair and ongoing technical support.