Fitbit won’t be profitable and will continue to burn through cash next year, Stifel said as it downgraded the company’s stock to a sell rating.
The company that once ignited a boom in fitness trackers hasn’t innovated enough to keep consumers interested, Stifel wrote. Plus, it said Fitbit hasn’t unlocked any meaningful business in the health-care space.
“The franchise and customer database does have strategic value and the balance sheet can sustain cash burn through 2018, but absent a change in direction and sudden acceleration in health care system revenue contribution, we see shares lacking a catalyst (without profits, not even corporate tax reform),” Stifel analyst Jim Duffy wrote in a note published Friday.
Fitbit now has two sell ratings on it, still relatively rare recommendations on Wall Street. The company still has five buy ratings and seven hold calls, according to FactSet. Shares of Fitbit plunged as much as 9.3 percent on Friday, dragging down its year-to-date loss to 15.5 percent.
Nonetheless, Stifel said it’s encouraged by Fitbit’s position in a market with promise for the long-term. But right now, it doesn’t see Fitbit’s path to profitability.
Source: CNBC
