Needham & Company Upgrades Hasbro (HAS) to Buy; Signs Games Are Strengthening And Visibility Is Increasing
Needham & Company is going against the grain and upgrading Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) from Hold to Buy with a price target of $52 following lackluster Q2. The firm notes while Q2 results fell short, only the boys segment showed weakness. The upgrade comes on signs that games are strengthening and visibility is increasing.
Analyst Sean McGowan comments, "Hasbro reported 2Q'13 sales and EPS that fell short of consensus and our estimates. Sales fell 6% vs. our estimate of a 3% drop and consensus of a 1% dip. EPS of $0.28 were short of our $0.30 estimate and consensus estimate of $0.34. Still, we believe the quarter showed more positive surprises than negative, since Games and Girls were up double digits, and Preschool was also up modestly. Thus, the only segment that was weak (albeit weaker than expected) was Boys, and that's the segment with the highest visibility for a rebound in 2014. In fact, we believe the visibility to growth in the coming years is better than it has been in many years, and we are upgrading our rating to Buy from Hold, with a $52 target."
The firm lowered FY 2013 EPS from $2.62 to $2.57 and raised FY 2014 EPS from $2.95 to $3.25.
For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Hasbro click here. For more ratings news on Hasbro click here.
Shares of Hasbro closed at $45.38 yesterday, with a 52 week range of $34.57-$48.97
Analyst Sean McGowan comments, "Hasbro reported 2Q'13 sales and EPS that fell short of consensus and our estimates. Sales fell 6% vs. our estimate of a 3% drop and consensus of a 1% dip. EPS of $0.28 were short of our $0.30 estimate and consensus estimate of $0.34. Still, we believe the quarter showed more positive surprises than negative, since Games and Girls were up double digits, and Preschool was also up modestly. Thus, the only segment that was weak (albeit weaker than expected) was Boys, and that's the segment with the highest visibility for a rebound in 2014. In fact, we believe the visibility to growth in the coming years is better than it has been in many years, and we are upgrading our rating to Buy from Hold, with a $52 target."
The firm lowered FY 2013 EPS from $2.62 to $2.57 and raised FY 2014 EPS from $2.95 to $3.25.
For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Hasbro click here. For more ratings news on Hasbro click here.
Shares of Hasbro closed at $45.38 yesterday, with a 52 week range of $34.57-$48.97