MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
October 16 – October 23, 2008 Edition
Barnes & Noble
Lags Broader Market
Recovery, Analysts Say
BOSTON (Authorlink/10/13/08 via MidnightTrader)–Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS) missed out on Monday’s stock rally. Hoover’s and MidnightTrader reported at 6 p.m. October 13 that a Goldman Sachs downgrade sent shares lower on concern that the nation’s largest bookseller will lag any broader market recovery.
The move comes after Barnes & Noble Inc. said last week that it would book an after-tax Q3 charge of $1.8 million. The retailer reported in its guidance that Q3 losses would be 10-cents to 15-cents-per-share.
According to a survey by Thomson Reuters, analysts expect the bookseller to lose 13 cents per share on revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter.
Goldman analyst Matthew Fassler dropped his rating to “sell” from “neutral” and cut his 12-month price target on the stock to $24 from $28, according to MidnightTrader.
Shares have traded between $20.56 and $39.74 in the past 52 weeks.
