Rockwell Automation price target lowered to $300 from $324 at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer analyst Noah Kaye lowered the firm’s price target on Rockwell Automation to $300 from $324 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm notes shares fell sharply Wednesday after the company reported Q1 sales/EPS below consensus and guided Q2 flat quarter-over-quarter, while maintaining full year outlook. Oppenheimer sees two key takeaways. First, forecasting and fulfilling demand in a dynamic macro has proved challenging for multiple quarters, and stronger execution against a second half of the year-heavy outlook will be key to rebuilding investor confidence. Second, end-market demand trends appear supportive of sales/EPS recovery, with Q1 orders exceeding management’s internal forecast and Q2-to-date indicated to have double digit sequential growth, the firm says.