On a bleak morning for London’s blue-chips, Smith & Nephew PLC (LON:SN.) was one of the FTSE 100’s worst performers after JP Morgan Cazenove downgraded the artificial hips and knees maker.
The investment bank previously had Smith & Nephew as ‘overweight’, but it has moved it down to ‘neutral’ and also trimmed its price target to 1,477p (from 1,487p).
READ: Morgan Stanley thinks new CEO can reinvigorate Smith & Nephew
The downgrade comes on the back of a decent year for the £5bn company’s shares, which climbed almost 16% last year, outperforming the FTSE and the wider European medtech sector.
“We believe the risk-reward from here is more balanced, with valuation less compelling and material upside likely requiring earnings’ upgrades. The most likely source of this is M&A, but we believe focus in the near term is more likely to be on smaller bolt-ons. In the near term, we expect FY19 FX headwinds that have not been fully captured to weigh a little on consensus estimates.”
Analysts also noted the current US dollar/ GB pound volatility which means there is “greater FX uncertainty” than what would normally be expected at the beginning of the year.
JP Morgan analysts lowered their forecasts slightly and now expect revenue of US$4.99bn (previously US$5.10bn) and adjusted earnings per share of US$0.98 (prev. US$1.00) in 2019.
S&N shares fell 3% to 1,421p in early deals on Wednesday morning.