What Made Oppenheimer Downgrade comScore’s Stock?

comScore (SCOR) received a Hold rating from Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein today. The company’s shares closed on Friday at $20.25.

Helfstein said:

“Downgrading SCOR shares to and suspending our $28 target following the surprise departure of both CEO and President. Additionally, SCOR guided 1Q revenues -4% y/y vs. prior mgmt guidance of flat or below vs. our +4% and 4Q’s +6%. While ’19 was expected to be back-end weighted, this suggests 1) quicker decline in legacy MediaMetrix subs or 2) big bet on 2H cross-media contracts. Either way, this is a startling announcement, as CEO Bryan Wiener joined in Hofstetter joined Oct. 2018. Dale Fuller, a director, was named interim CEO pending a search. Along with this announcement, SCOR is supplementing the board with three tenured executives from the advertising, digital media and research industries. Forward estimates are under review.”

According to TipRanks.com, Helfstein is a top 100 analyst with an average return of 18.2% and a 65.1% success rate. Helfstein covers the Technology sector, focusing on stocks such as Endurance International, ANGI Homeservices Inc, and Spotify Technology SA.

The word on The Street in general, suggests a Strong Buy analyst consensus rating for comScore with a $27.67 average price target, a 36.6% upside from current levels. In a report released today, Loop Capital Markets also downgraded the stock to Hold.

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The company has a one-year high of $25.69 and a one-year low of $12.85. Currently, comScore has an average volume of 153.5K.

Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 33 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is negative on the stock.

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comScore, Inc. engages in the provision of products and services to media, advertising, and marketing industries. It offers market and audience analytics, ad optimization, planning tools, and business facilitation services. The company was founded by Magid M. Abraham and Gian M. Fulgoni in August 1999 and is headquartered in Reston, VA.