From Marketscreener:
Berenberg announced on Monday (19.1. my own addition) that it has lowered its price target on Vusion from 270 to 252 euros, while maintaining its buy recommendation on the stock.
In a research note, the firm reported that last week in New York, it reviewed the adoption of the French group’s electronic label technology at Walmart during discussions with several senior executives from the American retailer.
According to the analyst, Walmart regards Vusion as one of its most reliable partners and aims to further deploy its solutions over the coming years, notably by testing its instant inventory vision system, Captana, which could be rolled out in its stores by 2027.
The analyst believes these factors suggest that Vusion could play a major role in the growth plans of Walmart and other leading retailers in the years ahead.
However, the fact that the retail giant is considering accelerating the execution of the contract has led to a downward revision of earnings estimates out to 2027.
Walmart indeed plans to complete the adoption of Vusion’s electronic labeling systems and software by the end of the year, sooner than previously anticipated, a timeline that has prompted Berenberg to lower its revenue forecast for 2027.
While the stock has recently fallen by 30%, Berenberg attributes this drop to fears of a “cliff” in 2027, which could see business sharply decline at that point, as well as concerns about increased competition—though at this stage, it does not view Chinese group Hanshow as a credible threat.
Although the firm considers that the accelerated rollout at Walmart poses a risk to achieving the 2.2 billion euro sales target in 2027, the analyst notes that a large-scale deployment of Captana could fully offset any potential “shortfall” and specifies that earnings estimates would be raised should new deployment announcements be made over the next twelve months.