PageGroup PLC (LON:PAGE) was knocked down to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ by Liberum as analysts do not see the recruiter at an inflection point yet.
The target price was also trimmed to 375p from 460p amid low visibility as the company did not provide any guidance in Wednesday’s interims.
READ: PageGroup swings to small half-year loss after coronavirus hit
Underlying earnings estimates were cut by 73% and 21% for this year and financial year 2021 respectively, as previous forecasts look unachievable after the broadly break-even first-half results.
“With a lower level of cost mitigation from the third quarter onwards, earnings will be more susceptible to short term volatility in markets,” the broker noted.
However, its diversification and strong balance sheet make PageGroup “well positioned to take market share and is likely to be more highly geared into any recovery than peers, given its perm focus,” analysts noted.
Shares dipped 1% to 380.4p on Thursday at noon.