Peloton Interactive shares rose to another record high after third-quarter results and a boosted year-end forecast blew away Wall Street’s estimates, indicating that strong demand for its exercise products is here to stay.
The coronavirus pandemic contributed to growth in the quarter as fitness centers were ordered to close and consumers turned to at-home physical activities. This shift in behavior was widely touted by Wall Street over recent months, but analysts still underestimated the degree of heightened demand. Connected fitness subscribers rose to 886,100 at quarter end, topping expectations for 858,000, which reflects an average of five estimates compiled by Bloomberg News.
“Fiscal third-quarter results reinforce our thesis that consumer behavior is fundamentally changing due to COVID-19 and that Peloton is benefiting from this shift as demand accelerates,” said JMP analyst Ronald Josey. Even BMO’s Simeon Siegel, who holds the lone sell-equivalent rating on the stock, couldn’t ignore the beat-and-raise results and called the earnings update “great.”
Peloton isn’t just a COVID-19 story, said Wedbush analyst James Hardiman, noting that the company was on a “promising trajectory” before the virus outbreak. Hardiman does not believe the boost in customers was “merely demand being pulled forward from future periods,” with brand awareness and interest for Peloton soaring over the past year. He has a buy-equivalent rating on the stock, and boosted his 12-month price target to $50 from $40.
Shares climbed as much as 20 percent to $45.70, easily surpassing the former intraday record high of $39.26. Even before Thursday’s trading, the New York-based company’s 19 percent rally leading up to its results had it on pace for the best week since late November.
Here’s more of what analysts had to say following Wednesday evenings’ results:
“Covid-19 is shifting user behavior across a wide range of activities,” said JPMorgan’s Doug Anmuth, who believes “accelerating the adoption of connected home fitness & the impact will prove sustainable … It will take time for people to return to gyms and boutique fitness classes, and it is debatable if/when membership levels will ever return to pre-COVID levels.”
Meanwhile, Peloton has more to look forward. The pushed-out release of the lower-priced Tread will be a “major product launch in 2021, with market size potential 2-3x that of Bike.”
