IBM Price Target Sliced To $180 At RBC

Shares of IBM Corp. fell more than 5% premarket Wednesday as investors digested weaker-than-expected quarterly sales, and analysts unleashed a wave of bearish notes. RBC Capital Markets lowered its 12-month price target on IBM's stock to $180 from $185 and reiterated a sector perform rating, saying sales growth may be limited in the near term. Investors may be waiting for more tangible signs of earnings growth before getting bullish on the company, which has been transitioning to a cloud services company, RBC said. Analysts at Stifel took a longer approach, reiterating a buy rating and $192 price target. They said the post-earnings selloff may present an "opportunistic entry point." The average rating on the stock is the equivalent to neutral, while the average price target is $170.05, according to a FactSet survey of roughly 30 analysts. Shares of IBM traded around $160.96 in premarket trade. They've gained 2% in the past three months and 18% in the past year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average , a 30-member index that includes IBM, has increased 4% in the past three months and 14% in the past year. The broader S&P 500 is up 3.5% in three months and 11.5% in the past year.

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