Korn Ferry upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at William Blair

William Blair upgraded Korn Ferry to Outperform from Market Perform ahead of the fiscal Q3 report on March 6. Based on both encouraging commentary from Heidrick & Struggles earlier this week and conversations with privately held competitors, the firm sees an improving demand backdrop for executive search, Korn Ferry’s largest segment, which it says could drive near-tern upside to estimates. The analyst sees a pathway to Korn Ferry’s 16%-18% adjusted EBITDA margin target in a potential demand recovery, aided by a recent workforce reduction, technology and productivity investments that could sustain higher revenue.