Morgan Stanley Reaffirms Underweight Rating for European Wax Center (NASDAQ:EWCZ)

European Wax Center (NASDAQ:EWCZ)‘s stock had its “underweight” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley in a note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $5.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target suggests a potential downside of 15.18% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on EWCZ. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of European Wax Center from $13.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Citigroup cut European Wax Center from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $5.50 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on European Wax Center from $16.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $8.00 target price on shares of European Wax Center in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of European Wax Center from $16.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.64.

European Wax Center Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EWCZ opened at $5.90 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.63. The company has a market cap of $353.58 million, a P/E ratio of 22.67, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.18, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a current ratio of 3.49. European Wax Center has a one year low of $4.80 and a one year high of $16.07.

European Wax Center (NASDAQ:EWCZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $59.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.27 million. European Wax Center had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 13.84%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that European Wax Center will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On European Wax Center

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in European Wax Center by 1.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,889,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,523,000 after purchasing an additional 29,918 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of European Wax Center by 13.1% during the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,745,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,617,000 after purchasing an additional 435,270 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of European Wax Center by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 49,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $643,000 after buying an additional 6,170 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its position in shares of European Wax Center by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 3,265,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,380,000 after buying an additional 265,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of European Wax Center by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 95,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,240,000 after buying an additional 13,497 shares during the period. 82.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

European Wax Center Company Profile

European Wax Center, Inc operates as the franchisor and operator of out-of-home waxing services in the United States. It offers body and facial waxing services; and pre- and post-service products, including ingrown hair serums, exfoliating gels, brow shapers, and skin treatments. The company was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Plano, Texas.