Research
Research Alert: CFRA Lowers Opinion On Shares Of Gartner Inc. To Buy From Strong Buy
CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:We lower our price target by $31 to $204, 15x our 2026 EPS view, a significant discount to IT's three-year average (~32x) given declining growth metrics and AI competition. We lift our 2026 EPS view by $0.52 to $13.57 and raise 2027's by $0.60 to $14.55. Q1 saw another quarter of impressive margin expansion (contribution margin +260 bps Y/Y to 71.6%), aiding a 14% EPS beat, but CV growth again underwhelmed despite showing moderate acceleration (+1.0% Y/Y vs. +0.8% in Q4). Engagement metrics continue to improve, and we expect continued traction for AskGartner to further boost usage, leading to improved retention metrics. As-reported CV growth is also set to get a boost from the lapping of U.S. Federal headwinds in Q2, providing a potential positive catalyst. Nonetheless, the consistent introduction of "temporary" headwinds (now including the Middle East conflict) continues to weigh down growth, making it hard for IT to shake the bearish narrative that AI competition is structurally hurting its growth trajectory.
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