Pentair (PNR) chief financial officer Nick Brazis' unexpected departure, just four months after his appointment, adds near-term skepticism on the stock, RBC Capital Markets analysts said in a note emailed Wednesday.
Analysts said that the company's preliminary Q2 results missed consensus estimates in every key metric by a wide margin.
RBC said that there is rising concern that distributors are carrying more lower-cost Chinese pool pumps rather than Pentair's higher-margin product.
Also, some investors believe the company's 80/20 initiative and customer refocusing may have affected certain channel relationships, analysts said.
RBC downgraded the stock's rating to sector perform from outperform and lowered its price target to $74 from $101.
Price: $63.37, Change: $-12.31, Percent Change: -16.27%