EverQuote's Improving Conditions & Clearer Sight On Growth/Margins Trigger 162% Price Target Boost By This Analyst - EverQuote (NASDAQ:EVER)

Needham analyst Mayank Tandon maintained EverQuote Inc EVER with a Buy and raised the price target from $8 to $21.
Tandon hosted John Wagner (CFO) and Joseph Sanborn (EVP of Finance, Strategy, and Operations) at the 25th Annual Needham Growth Conference.
Management's comments were primarily focused on the most recent trends facing the auto insurance industry, as carriers continue to push policy rate increases in response to higher claims losses.
Tandon noted that rate increases come at a lag to inflation due to regulatory hurdles and policy renewal cycles but believe approaching an inflection which should help carrier advertising budgets improve as FY23 unfolds.
Tandon expects growth in the home, life, and health verticals (<20% of revenue today) to continue growing at a steady clip, which should help diversify the business in the future, making the business less susceptible to auto-specific claims losses.
Given the analyst's expectation for a recovery in the auto insurance vertical, Tandon boosted estimates to reflect a slightly faster recovery in the business.
The analyst expects revenue growth to improve steadily through FY23 as more carriers get adjusted policy rates passed through, helping profitability improve and creating more opportunities to expand marketing budgets.
Tandon expects conditions to improve as FY23 progresses, positioning EVER to exit FY23 at a normalized growth and margin cadence.
Tandon believes there could be an upside to estimates if the recovery in auto advertising budgets occurs at a faster-than-expected clip.
The analyst raised estimates in response to the improving conditions and a more precise line of sight toward more normalized growth and margins.
Price Action: EVER shares traded higher by 5.24% at $17.68 on the last check Wednesday.

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