Stamps.com Wins Over Last Bearish Analyst on Favorable 2020 View

(Bloomberg) -- Stamps.com Inc. won over the last bearish analyst on Wednesday as Roth Capital Partners upgraded the stock, citing a more favorable outlook for 2020.

The company, which makes software that lets customers print postage for U.S. mail, has had a nightmarish year so far, reflected in a stock that’s down 58% in 2019.

The troubles started early, when Stamps said during fourth-quarter results in February that it would end its exclusive partnership with the U.S. Postal Service. Then in May, the company slashed its profit outlook for the full year, fueling concerns about its ability to protect margins.

On Wednesday, Roth’s Darren Aftahi said the latest round of channel checks suggested postage resellers like Stamps may get more favorable rates from the USPS into 2020 than previously thought. Stamps also partners with other resellers like Intuiship and Parcel Partners.

“The result of more favorable pricing terms for one or more resellers would amount to improved revenue in 2020, as well as improved adjusted Ebitda,” the analyst wrote in a note, upgrading Stamps to neutral from sell.

Roth had been the only firm tracked by Bloomberg with a sell rating on the stock, and Aftahi raised the price target to $52, from what had been the Street-low view of $32. According to Bloomberg data, 4 analysts now recommend holding the stock, while one has a buy rating. No one recommends selling.

Stamps shares gained as much as 7% in New York on Wednesday, briefly rising to the highest since early May.

To contact the reporter on this story: Esha Dey in New York at edey@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brad Olesen at bolesen3@bloomberg.net, Scott Schnipper

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