Box Stock Slips Ahead Of Q4 Print Due After Tuesday’s Closing Bell: Retail Sentiment Soars

Shares of Content management platform Box, Inc. (BOX) slipped in Tuesday’s pre-market session ahead of the company’s fourth-quarter earnings scheduled to be released after the closing bell.

The Finchat-compiled consensus estimates call for adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.42, flat with the year-ago results, and revenue of $279.20 million, up 6.2% from last year’s $262.88 million. 

The company’s guidance issued in early December put the headline numbers at $0.41 and $279 million, respectively.

Box reported topline growth of 5% in the third quarter.

Investors may focus on key operating metrics such as the remaining performance obligations (RPO) and billings. Third-quarter RPO climbed 13% year over year (YOY) to $1.3 billion, and billings rose 4% to $264.7 million.

Box also clocked a record non-GAAP operating margin of 29.1% in the fourth quarter.

While initiating coverage of Box in mid-December, DA Davidson said the company is in the early stage of a positive inflection to growth after recent platform expansions, TheFly reported. 

The firm said it expects to see an upgrade cycle from current customers to more premium tiers of the Box platform, which will likely lead to higher growth and margins. It believes investors haven’t fully appreciated the company’s significant product enhancements, which will likely set an upgrade cycle in motion.

DA Davidson has a ‘Buy’ rating on the Box stock and a $45 price target.

BofA, which also has a ‘Buy’ rating, has a more muted price target of $40 for the stock. According to analysts at the firm, Box is well positioned for artificial intelligence (AI) monetization opportunities due to its status as the “leading enterprise data repository.”

Even as enterprise headwinds, including tighter budgets and headcount right-sizing, are fading, Box’s valuation still reflected an “overly bearish” view, the firm added.

On Stocktwits, sentiment toward Box stock is ‘extremely bullish’ (93/100), an improvement from the ‘bullish’ mood that prevailed a day ago. The message volume has also perked to an ‘extremely high’ level.

In premarket trading, Box stock slipped 1.10% to $32.40. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $24.64-$33.07 and is up about 4% year-to-date.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

Read Next: AST SpaceMobile Stock Falls Premarket Despite Reporting Narrower Q4 Loss: Retail Mood Worsens