Fitbit downgraded to neutral as adoption of wearables wanes

Shares of Fitbit Inc. fell 2% on Thursday after the stock was downgraded to neutral from hold at Deutsche Bank on concerns about slower growth across the entire wearables industry. Analyst Sherri Scribner, who has a $9 price target on the stock, said the downgrade reflected slower-than-expected adoption of wearables and a deceleration in demand for Fitbit products. “We continue to view Fitbit as a leader in the weareable fitness category, but given consumer demand appears to be waning for wearable devices, we are taking a wait-and-see approach,” said Scribner. This comes three days after industry tracker IDC reported a 3% increase in third-quarter wearable shipments, which marked a significant deceleration from 67% and 26% in the first and second quarters, respectively. The report also showed a near halving of Apple Inc.’s share of the smartwatch category. Shares of Fitbit traded down around $7.82 in late-morning trade. They’re down 47% in the past three months and 76% in the past year. The S&P 500 , by comparison, is up 3% in the past three months and 9% in the past year.

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