For a while there, things were looking pretty good at Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE:CWK). Despite some sputtering in the real estate sector, there were good signs afoot, and no one was really sweating the upcoming earnings report. That’s when Goldman Sachs stepped in and shot the whole drive in the foot, sending Cushman & Wakefield down in Monday today’s trading.
Goldman Sachs analyst Chandni Luthra delivered the hammer blow to Cushman & Wakefield, noting that the sputtering in the real estate market was likely to get worse. Lenders are reconsidering lending in general as the costs of borrowing climb thanks to interest rates mounting in a bid to kill inflation. Commercial real estate transactions, in general, are down, and there’s no sign that things are going to loosen any time soon.
Yet there are some positive signs for Cushman & Wakefield that push back against Luthra’s outlook. Cushman & Wakefield recently took home an All-Star rating from the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals for its work in outsourcing. Cushman & Wakefield also landed the association’s “Sustained Excellence” distinction, as it’s been rated on the lists for 12 straight years. Cushman & Wakefield also announced several new leases despite a “challenging market,” which is exactly the opposite of what Luthra projected would happen.
Hedge funds, however, share Luthra’s pessimistic outlook on Cushman & Wakefield, selling two million shares last quarter. Currently, hedge fund sentiment on CWK stock is rated Very Negative. Worse yet, this marks the fifth consecutive quarter that hedge funds have reduced their holdings of the stock.
