Peloton's stock takes a spill, even as IPO underwriters cheer it on

By Noel Randewich

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Shares of Peloton Interactive (O:) slumped 6% on Monday, even after a multitude of buy ratings from the stationary bike seller’s IPO banks, underscoring Wall Street’s growing exhaustion from money-losing startups.

At least 14 underwriters of Peloton’s initial public offering on Sept. 25, including JPMorgan (NYSE:), UBS and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:), launched analyst coverage of the unprofitable company, all of them recommending investors buy its poorly performing stock.

Peloton’s stock has fallen 24% since its debut last month, when storm clouds were amassing over office-sharing startup WeWork’s IPO, which would be scuttled on Sept. 30.

Among underwriters launching coverage on Monday following a quiet period related to Peloton’s IPO, Goldman Sachs appeared the most bullish, with a price target of $37, or 68% higher than its current price of around $22.

JPMorgan, which had a price target of $32, and Goldman Sachs were the IPO’s lead underwriters.

The New York company sells exercise equipment and a subscription service for streaming exercise classes. Its flagship product is a stationary bike priced at over $2,200.

“Peloton is creating a new market in connected fitness, one leveraged to health and wellness’ growing share of consumer spending, the ubiquity of always-on devices, and the power of online communities,” Goldman Sachs analyst Heath Terry wrote in a report.

Peloton’s revenue more than doubled to $915 million in the fiscal year ending in June, while its loss deepened from $48 million to $196 million.

Earlier this month, Peloton sued Echelon Fitness LLC, alleging that it infringed on its patents and sold “cheap, copycat” products.

At the end of September, WeWork’s parent company was forced to abandon its much-anticipated IPO due to skepticism about its burgeoning losses and corporate governance problems, and Wall Street has become more picky since then.

SmileDirectClub (O:), an unprofitable company selling teeth aligners directly to customers, has slumped 60% since its IPO on Sept. 11, even after analysts from its underwriters overwhelmingly recommended buying the stock.

Uber Technologies Inc (N:), 2019’s most hotly anticipated public listing, has tumbled 30% since its May IPO. Most analysts covering Uber recommend buying its shares, according to Refinitiv.

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