Best Buy investors should brace for more pain ahead, according to Jefferies. Analyst Jonathan Matuszewski downgraded shares of Best Buy to hold from buy, after the company lowered its forecast for the current quarter and fiscal year . Best Buy joins several other retailers that have reduced guidance because of weakening consumer demand. “[We] revisited the BBY bull case and believe initiatives to drive market share & profits likely to be overshadowed by a softer macro,” Matuszewski wrote in a Thursday note. “A recession label for the US economy is being debated, but a discretionary goods recession is here,” he added. Jefferies also slashed the price target to $71 from $106, a 33% cut. The new price target is 4% below where shares closed Wednesday. Best Buy shares are down more than 23% this year, lagging the S & P 500. Best Buy on Wednesday said same-store sales will fall roughly 13% for the current quarter, more than what the retailer was expecting three months ago. Previously, Best Buy predicted that sales would roughly match the 8% decline in the first quarter. “We are now beyond lapping elevated comparisons tied to stimulus from early 2021, but it’s increasingly clear that consumers are spending more on needs (gas, food) and less on wants,” the note read. —CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
