Why Did INTU, BJ, AZO Stocks Tumble To 52-Week Lows?

• INTU shares fell to a yearly low of $302.38 in Tuesday’s trading session after Mizuho lowered the price target on the company to $500 from $600. 
• BJ's stock slid to a 52-week low of $83.90 as slowing demand in its core merchandise category and weaker profitability prompted Wall Street analysts to lower price targets. 
• AZO stock tumbled to a yearly low of $3,001 after the company’s Q3 results revealed weak international growth, margin compression, and growing inflationary pressures.

Shares of Intuit Inc. (INTU), BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings Inc. (BJ) and AutoZone Inc. (AZO) all tumbled to fresh 52-week lows on Tuesday as disappointing earnings updates and mounting Wall Street skepticism weighed on investor sentiment.

INTU shares closed down nearly 5% amid a series of price target cuts. Meanwhile, BJ stock was down 2%, while AZO tumbled nearly 9% at close.

Intuit Slapped With Price Target Cuts

The financial software company is headed for its second consecutive month of declines as Wall Street sounded concerns over its tax software. Shares of the company fell to a yearly low of $302.38 in Tuesday’s trading session.

Mizuho analyst Siti Panigrahi lowered the price target on Intuit to $500 from $600 and kept an Outperform rating on the shares, citing the company's fiscal third-quarter shortfall in TurboTax, which the analyst said drove the post-earnings selloff.

Mizuho, however, added that it believes Intuit's tax bull case remains intact, saying the company still offers "durable" long-term growth driven by TurboTax Live and the assisted tax category.

Last week, Argus also lowered its price target on Intuit to $480 from $580 but kept a ‘Buy’ rating on the shares, citing a lower TurboTax revenue forecast.

INTU stock has declined more than 51% so far this year, even as retail sentiment around the stock remains ‘extremely bullish’ amid ‘extremely high’ message volumes.

BJ Pressured By Margin Weakness

The warehouse club chain’s stock slid to a 52-week low of $    83.90 on Tuesday as slowing demand in its core merchandise category and weaker profitability weighed heavily on the company.

BJ’s Wholesale also attracted multiple price target revisions from Wall Street analysts. DA Davidson lowered the price target on the company to $105 from $114 but kept a ‘Buy’ rating on the shares after the company posted first-quarter results last week. The analyst said that the stock sold off during the earnings call after the comment that 10 bps of merchandise margin pressure would have been 60 bps without the benefit of tariff rebates.

Citi also lowered the price target on BJ's Wholesale to $100 from $118 and maintained a ‘Buy’ rating on the shares, citing weaker merchandise margin performance in Q1 and lower sector valuations. Meanwhile, BofA lowered the price target on the firm to $100 from $110 and kept a ‘Neutral’ rating on the shares.

BJ stock has declined more than 7% this year. However, retail sentiment around the stock remains ‘extremely bullish’ amid ‘extremely high’ message volumes.

AutoZone Tumbles On Growth, Margin Concerns

The automotive retailer’s shares declined the most in four years, and tumbled to a yearly low of $3,001 in intraday trading after the company’s third-quarter earnings results revealed weak international growth, margin compression, and growing inflationary pressures.

The Memphis, Tennessee-based company posted revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, slightly below expectations, although earnings of $38.07 per share beat Wall Street projections. CEO Phil Daniele said that the slowdown in sales was due to “unseasonably cool weather” that weighed on the company’s heat-related categories, and also highlighted ongoing pressures from inflation and currency fluctuations.

The company also said it was experiencing weakness in its international business due to slowing economies in Mexico and Brazil.

AZO shares have slumped about 6% this year, but retail sentiment on Stocktwits remains ‘bullish’ amid ‘extremely high’ message volumes.

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