Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Freshworks (NASDAQ:FRSH) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has reduced its price target for Freshworks' stock from $18.00 to $16.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating, which indicates a potential upside of 27.62% based on current prices.
• Freshworks has experienced mixed ratings from analysts, with eight giving it a "Buy" rating, while others lowered their ratings, leading to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $20.14.
• The company recently reported earnings, exceeding analysts’ expectations with $0.18 EPS and $204.68 million in revenue, marking a 19.6% increase compared to the same quarter last year.

Freshworks (NASDAQ:FRSH - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $18.00 to $16.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price would suggest a potential upside of 27.62% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Freshworks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 23rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Freshworks in a research report on Friday. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Freshworks in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Freshworks from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Freshworks to an "overweight" rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Freshworks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.14.

Freshworks Stock Performance

FRSH traded down $0.37 on Friday, hitting $12.54. 1,242,031 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,761,259. Freshworks has a 12 month low of $10.81 and a 12 month high of $19.77. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of -69.86 and a beta of 0.94.

Freshworks (NASDAQ:FRSH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $204.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $198.85 million. Freshworks had a negative return on equity of 2.56% and a negative net margin of 7.02%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.08 EPS. Freshworks has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.560-0.580 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 0.120-0.140 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Freshworks will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Zachary Nelson sold 8,433 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total value of $110,809.62. Following the transaction, the director owned 38,870 shares of the company's stock, valued at $510,751.80. This represents a 17.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jennifer H. Taylor sold 7,558 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.13, for a total value of $114,352.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 44,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $669,018.34. This trade represents a 14.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 79,181 shares of company stock valued at $1,107,538 over the last 90 days. 11.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshworks

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Freshworks by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 369,370 shares of the company's stock worth $5,973,000 after buying an additional 95,463 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in Freshworks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $190,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Freshworks by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 513,810 shares of the company's stock worth $8,308,000 after purchasing an additional 70,001 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Freshworks by 81.6% during the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 108,972 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,762,000 after buying an additional 48,950 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in shares of Freshworks in the fourth quarter worth $167,000. 75.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Freshworks

Freshworks Inc, a software development company, provides software-as-a-service products worldwide. It offers Freshworks Customer Service Suite, which provides automated, personalized self-service on various channels, including web, chat, mobile messaging, email, and social; Freshdesk, a ticketing-centric customer service solution; Freshsuccess, a customer success solution; and Freshchat that provides agents with a modern conversational experience to proactively engage customers across digital messaging channels.

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