Solo Brands downgraded at Piper after ‘highly disappointing’ pre-announcement

As previously reported, Piper Sandler downgraded Solo Brands to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $4, down from $8, as the firm has lowered its estimates following today’s “highly disappointing” negative Q4 pre-announcement and “surprising” CEO change. While the firm says it dislikes downgrading stocks after bad news and with a 35% selloff, it “cannot recommend shares for several reasons.” Piper says the notable direct channel weakness implied by the sales guidedown suggests broader issues beyond marketing, such as new product launches not working, and it notes that the CEO change follows the previous CFO’s departure announcement less than three months ago.