UPDATE: Morgan Stanley Downgrades Symantec to Underweight, $21.00 PT

In a report published Monday, Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss downgraded Symantec, Inc. SYMC to Underweight, with a $21.00 price target. According to the report, greater than expected sales disruptions, new product suites not yet in the pipe and recent changes in management leave analysts more cautious on an improving growth profile at SYMC. “With the sales teams not fully rebuilt for at least the next 2-3 quarters, we believe the pipe will be slower to build and channel conversations suggest more limited opportunities for upside surprises in billings with current offerings,” the report noted. “In addition, the number of recent management transitions, including the departure of President of Product & Services Francis deSouza, reduces our confidence in strong (and rapid) execution on the difficult task of revamping Symantec's product strategy to drive better top-line growth.” Some risks to SYMC included 4.0 not reaching operating margin and revenue growth targets, additional acquisitions and losing market share in endpoint security from next generation malware protection vendors. SYMC closed Friday at $23.47.