WW Grainger Stock Falls After UBS Downgrade

WW Grainger (NYSE:GWW) experienced a drop of over 2% during trading today following UBS's decision to downgrade the company from Buy to Neutral. UBS also adjusted its price target for Grainger to $820.00, up from $815.00.

According to UBS, it no longer views Grainger as a low-risk opportunity for increased earnings per share (EPS) and believes that the recent revaluation of the stock has already factored in sustained market outgrowth.

Despite UBS anticipating that Grainger will sustain its HighTouch gross margin and experience moderate market outgrowth, the firm emphasized the presence of several upcoming challenges. UBS states that these positive factors are already reflected in the forward estimates, which have risen by 25% in the past year, as well as in the valuation (1 standard deviation premium).

There are concerns that key performance indicators such as gross margin and market outgrowth may decline in the coming quarters, which poses a risk given that the stock has recently been revalued to historic highs.

UBS predicts that Grainger's HighTouch pricing will ease and align with the Producer Price Index (PPI) by the end of 2023. This adjustment is likely to result in year-over-year decreases in gross margin starting in Q3, a trend that has historically impacted the company's stock performance.