Groupon's Transitional Push Shows Strength, Especially In North America

In a report published Friday, Credit Suisse analyst Stephen Ju reiterated a Neutral rating and $8.00 price target on

. In the report, Credit Suisse noted, "Groupon continues to transition from a ‘push' to ‘pull' platform in tandem with the migration of traffic to mobile, and expansion initiatives in Asia through its TMON property. Groupon does intend to step up its investment in TMON during 1Q15 and spend ~$15mm in a bid to grow the franchise, which explains the shortfall in the 1Q15 EBITDA guidance versus expectations." The report continued, "We maintain our Neutral rating, but factors that can push us to adopt more of a constructive investment stance on GRPN shares focus on improved demand generation against the supply base it has already assembled: 1) greater traction in the local segment through mobile offerings and Page product, 2) greater consumer engagement and adoption as company's Pull initiatives gain traction, 3) continued margin expansion in the goods business through logistics optimization." Groupon closed on Thursday at $7.46.