Do Analysts Care About Yahoo's Earnings Report?

The mixed earnings of Yahoo! Inc. YHOO had little impact on investors, who are focusing on the sale process of the company. This sentiment led to the higher opening of the shares Tuesday morning and is now up 3 percent. Most Wall Street analysts have maintained their Hold-equivalent ratings pending sale of core business, and some have raised their price targets. Mark May of Citi raised his price target on Yahoo to $38 from $37 and maintained Neutral rating given the continued challenges at core business and the uncertainty surrounding a ‘strategic transaction.' Credit Suisse's Stephen Ju also lifted the price target by $1 to $47 and maintained Neutral rating as it remains in a "wait-and-see mode" on further developments on its advertising business/revenue growth. "We continue to believe that there is some amount of low-hanging fruit for YHOO to unlock shareholder value: search advertising vis-à-vis its relationship with Google, a move to more aggressively monetize properties such as Tumblr," Ju wrote in a note. Goldman Sachs maintained its Neutral rating, but raised the price target to $38 from $37 due to changes in its sum of the parts (SOTP) valuation. "We continue to value Yahoo's balance sheet assets at a fully taxed 38% discount to current market value. This implies a per share value to YHOO of $6.29 from YJ and HDP, $19.86 from Alibaba, $5.97 from the core business, and $6.09 per share in net cash," analyst Heath Terry said. http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/16/04/7861036/goldman-sees-little-near-term-impact-for-yahoo-remains-n Meanwhile, JPMorgan said though Yahoo delivered in-line to above results despite clear corporate distractions, its expectation for meaningful near-term revenue and EBITDA headwinds and Mavens growth deceleration remains unchanged. Since JPMorgan is advising Yahoo, it has suspended its rating and price target on the shares. However, Shyam Patil of Susquehanna kept his Positive rating on Yahoo, citing management's emphasis on strategic priorities, rapid progress on cost cutting and clarity on the Yahoo Japan royalties. On the cost cutting front, Yahoo cut 1,000 jobs during the first quarter and the current headcount stands at 9,200, with 700 contractors. Patil said several near-term catalysts include a sale of the core business, reverse spin, and proxy battle with Starboard. The analyst raised his price target to $44 from $40. Oppenheimer's Jason Helfstein mentioned that although growth at Mavens has been slowing, Yahoo appears to be executing on its plan to "simplify products, reduce costs, and focus on higher margin ad-tech solutions." Helfstein maintained an Outperform rating on the company, while raising the price target from $40 to $49. Read more: http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/16/04/7861972/oppenheimer-boosts-yahoos-target-alibaba-gains-and-core-#ixzz46O0tmAdg SunTrust Robinson Humphrey's Bob Peck maintained a Buy rating for the company, with a $44 price target. The analyst commented that Yahoo's results were "not really material," since the Board is actively exploring the sale of its core business. Read more: http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/16/04/7861833/a-melting-ice-cube-yahoos-earnings-have-little-impact-in#ixzz46O17MHTs Shares of Yahoo rose 3.66 percent to $37.66. They have been trading between $26.15 and $45.18 during the past 52-weeks.