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Notable Analyst Actions: The Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS), RingCentral Inc (NYSE:RNG), LivePerson, Inc.(NASDAQ:LPSN), Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Notable Analyst Actions: The Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS), RingCentral Inc (NYSE:RNG), LivePerson, Inc.(NASDAQ:LPSN), Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)
Written by
Alex Carlson
Published on
October 9, 2014
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The Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS) was downgraded to market perform from outperform at Telsey Advisory Group on Thursday. The firm lowered its price target on The Gap to $44 from $50. Glenn Murphy, the company's chief executive officer, announced his retirement on Wednesday. He will be succeeded by digital business head Art Peck as the company focuses more on online retailing. Separately, the company said its Sept. sales were up 1% vs. last year. Comp store sales for September were flat vs. a 3% decrease last year. Shares fell 11% to $37.12 in New York. The Gap Inc. (GPS) has traded in a range from $36.13 to $46.85 a share in the past 52 weeks. RingCentral Inc (NYSE:RNG) slumped to a new lifetime low of $10.95 Thursday morning after Goldman Sachs analysts downgraded the software-as-a-service solutions provider to neutral from a buy rating and cut their price target to $14 from $20 a share. Goldman Sachs analyst Heather Bellini said in a note cited by StreetInsider that the company will have to prove "its ability to penetrate larger enterprises and get closer to profitability on a cash flow basis in order for its multiple to move materially higher." The broker also said it does not expect RingCentral to become free cash flow positive until September 2016, noting that it has a negative free cash flow margin of minus 6%. After falling to a new record low, RingCentral Inc (RNG) shares were down 9.3% at $10.98, with a new 52-week range of $10.95-$23.65. LivePerson, Inc.(NASDAQ:LPSN) has been upgraded at Credit Suisse to Outperform from Neutral and its price target lifted to $17 from $13. Credit Suisse analyst Michael Nemeroff says the higher rating and price target reflects his "increased confidence that revenue growth will accelerate in 2015." Shares of LivePerson, Inc. (LPSN) are higher for the third consecutive day, trading at an 8-month high of $14.29, near the top of its 52-week range of $8.84 to $15.24.Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) received an investment-rating downgrade Thursday from BMO Capital Markets, which cut its rating on the consumer-products company's stock to market perform from outperform because the stock is within 5% of its price target at $74 per share. The firm kept the price target unchanged at $74. The shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (CHD) closed Wednesday at $70.47 and were inactive in recent pre-market trading, near the high end of their 52-week range of $59.00 to $70.87. "CHD has done better than most of the stocks in our personal care and household products universe; since the start of the year its shares have increased 6.3% vs a 0.1% decline for our universe," the firm noted to clients. "However, the laundry category remains intensely competitive, with category sales on promotion at 46.1% in the past 12 weeks, up from 39.3% in 3Q13; the promotional environment hasn't been this competitive since 2010." It added: "An accretive acquisition could change our view on the shares, but until or unless that happens, the shares look fully valued at 21x our 2015 estimate."

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