UBS maintained Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) at Sell with a $77 price target in a note Monday, stating they see downside risk. Analysts said in their 1Q preview that the firm sees an "unfavorable upside/downside skew" for the stock, with sell-side FY23 estimates and ROST's P/E potentially falling.
ROST is expected to report earnings for its latest quarter on May 18, after the close.
"We believe the 'bar' for ROST's 1Q report is a small beat and no change to FY23 guidance," said the analysts. "However, we see downside risk to this expectation given ongoing macro pressures on ROST's lower-income consumer."
"We think a disappointing guide could lead to downward revisions to Street FY23 EPS estimates and cause sentiment to weaken," they added. "The upside risk is ROST delivers a beat and raise report, but we see a lower chance of this scenario playing out."
As a result, they believe this, plus the bullish sentiment, tilts the upside/downside skew negatively.