The latest ASX stocks hit by broker downgrades today

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) is on track to post its fifth straight session of gains, but not all stocks are partaking in the merrymaking!

The top 200 stock benchmark added 0.2% in morning trade as the reopening of the global economy is emboldening the bulls.

This is despite the fact that the number of new daily COVID-19 cases worldwide hit another record high of 106,000 cases on Wednesday.

At risk of sounding like a coronavirus wet blanket, I should point out that not all ASX shares are having a good time. Here are two that are slumping today after top brokers downgraded their recommendation on these ASX stocks.

Can’t cut your way to growth

One laggard is the TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE) share price, which dropped 1.8% to $9.63 at the time of writing.

Its underperformance may have something to do with UBS urging investors to cut and run even though management delivered a good first half profit result.

But good isn’t good enough in the broker’s book. Management’s guidance on Software as a Service (SaaS) annual recurring revenue of $133 million for FY20 may be a solid 31% increase over last year, but it’s well below UBS’ forecast of $164 million.

“We forecast 2H20E non-R&D/SaaS opex will need to reduce 10% yoy (ex-AASB16 impacts) to hit the bottom end of the guidance range (8% PBT growth) with a 14% reduction required to hit the top end (12% PBT growth),” said the broker.

“COVID-19 impacts will likely contribute to this from reduced travel and marketing expenditure. A significant step up in incremental SaaS ARR is also required (+$25m hoh) as well as $18m in 2H20 Initial Licence Fees.”

UBS downgraded the stock to “sell” from “neutral” with a price target of $8.20 a share.

Knocked down

Another stock in the doldrums today is the Fletcher Building Limited (ASX: FBU) share price. The New Zealand-based building supplies group dropped 2.8% to $3 after Citigroup cut its rating on the stock to “neutral” from “buy” following management’s latest update.

“Fletcher Building’s skew to NZ and exposure to residential construction has led to very weak recent sales trends,” said the broker.

“While sales improved in May 2020, they are still down 10%-20% on budget. Fletcher Building’s own forecasts indicate that construction activity will drop much further in FY21e.”

Infrastructure construction is the only bright spot on the horizon for the group, but it only contributes to around a quarter of Fletcher’s total sales.

The timing of the aggressive shutdown of the NZ economy to contain COVID-19 also couldn’t come at a worse time. Citi noted that the quarter typically makes up 40% to 45% of the group’s full year earnings.

The broker’s price target on the stock is NZ$3.50 a share.

More reading

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• How to invest $1,000 in ASX 200 shares like Warren Buffett today
• Why I’d invest $1,000 in this ASX tech share today

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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