Services

What Analysts Are Saying About Blue Apron After the Quiet Period

Chris Lange

Published: July 24, 2017 11:50 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 9:51 am

The quiet period is over for Blue Apron Holdings Inc. (NYSE: APRN), and now analysts are pouring into the food delivery service. The company only came public at the tail-end of June, but the hype around this company has grown for some time. Analysts seem to be on board, although most of their price targets are close to the original IPO pricing.

The days after the initial public offering have been painful ones for those investors who believe in the company’s future. In fact, Blue Apron may be one of the worst performing of any highly visible IPO in recent times. And it is happening in good economic times and during a major bull market.

During the quiet period, one analyst came forward with a Sell rating for the stock. Northcoast Research initiated coverage with the Sell rating and a $2 price target. Northcoast Research may not be a household name to investors, but analysts from the underwriting syndicate are still forced to remain mum during the imposed quiet period. Still, this is just one more bruise for Blue Apron’s bulls, and it came on the heels of a day when the stock finally managed to rally.

Now that the quiet period is over, the underwriters — or some of the bulls in this case — have had a chance to respond:

• Raymond James initiated coverage with a Market Perform rating.
• Oppenheimer initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and an $11 price target.
• Morgan Stanley has an Equal Weight rating with a $7.50 price target.
• Canaccord Genuity initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a street-high $14 price target.
• Needham initiated coverage with a $10 price target.
• William Blair has a Market Perform rating.
• SunTrust initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $12 price target.
• Stifel initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $10 price target.
• Barclays has an Equal Weight rating with a $7 price target.
• Goldman Sachs has a Buy rating with an $11 price target.

Shares of Blue Apron were last seen trading up more than 15% at $7.58, with a 52-week range of $6.23 to $11.00.