Bed Bath & Beyond Under Pressure As Q3 Earnings Release Approaches

Analysts at Wedbush are bearish heading into Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. BBBY's third-quarter print set for next week.

“While BBBY likely benefitted from a bounce in industry sales in November reported by the Census Bureau and other companies including PIR, we see risk to 3Q comps and margins, and to 4Q guidance that currently implies a material acceleration in the business,” said Wedbush analysts on Thursday.

Risks

There is a downward risk to the company’s comps, seen as likely flat or slightly negative compared to Bed Bath & Beyond’s second quarter. Intense competition also persists, although demand is improving.

“We believe that the competitive environment intensified in 3Q, with many competitors reporting slower sales growth and declining margins,” added Wedbush.

Analysts also noted election-related uncertainty as a potential risk moving forward.

Wedbush maintains a Neutral rating on the company with a $42 price target. At last check, shares were up 1.55 percent on the day at $47.68.

The print is scheduled for release on December 21 after market close. Image Credit: Coolcaesar at the English language Wikipedia [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons