UPDATE: Credit Suisse Downgrades Weight Watchers International Ahead of Earnings Report, Investor Day

In a report published Wednesday, Credit Suisse analyst Glen Santangelo downgraded the rating on

from Outperform to Neutral, and lowered the price target from $45.00 to $44.00. In the report, Credit Suisse noted, “Ahead of WTW's earnings report (10/30) and Investor Day (11/6), we thought it would be helpful to revisit key pressure points as well as our Google Trends analysis. WTW has been under pressure on a number of fronts and has lagged significantly, down 23% YTD (S&P up 23%). Following our recent meeting with management, it is our sense that the upcoming Analyst Day will help define the new long-term strategy for the company. We are increasingly convinced that the current status quo will not be good enough to drive shares higher. Despite an attractive FCF yield (~8%), strong brand equity and cost-optimization efforts, the turnaround process will likely be multi-year. With less than 10% upside to our revised $44 PT (from $45), we believe a Neutral rating is appropriate.” Weight Watchers International closed on Tuesday at $40.19.