Shares in Coty (COTY) jumped 18% as it appointed its chairman Peter Harf as CEO to help spearhead a strategic turnaround plan of its business. As part of the plan, the indebted cosmetics maker struck a deal to sell a majority stake in its retail and hair business to buyout firm KKR & Co. (KKR).Investors welcomed the news as the stock surged 18% to $4.28 in midday U.S. trading after plunging almost 70% since the beginning of the year.In his new role, Harf will be part of a new three-person Executive Committee to make sure that Coty takes the right steps to become a more profitable company and drive improvements across the business.Under the agreement with KKR, the cosmetics maker will sell a 60% stake in brands including Wella, Clairol, and OPI, in a deal valued at $4.3 billion. In addition, KKR will invest $1 billion directly into Coty through the issuance of convertible preferred shares.Coty said that the sale of a majority interest in the professional and retail hair business will simplify its portfolio and allow it to focus on its core prestige and mass beauty businesses.Excluding the Wella business, Coty is targeting a net reduction in fixed costs of about $600 million in cash over the next 3 years, equating to 25% of its pro forma fixed cost base. The one-off costs associated with this program are estimated at $500 million.Wells Fargo analyst Joe Lachky maintained a Hold rating on the stock with a $5 price target saying he sees “few positive catalysts until channel disruption normalizes and visibility into stabilization of the top-line emerges”.“Positively, COTY was able to get a deal done with a strong financial partner at an attractive multiple on pre-COVID financials (12.3x FY19 EBITDA),” Lachky wrote in a note to investors. “That said, we still estimate the transaction will be dilutive, even inclusive of new cost savings.”Overall, Wall Street analysts are sitting on the fence when it comes to Coty stock. The Hold consensus consists of 7 Hold ratings, 1 Sell and 1 Buy rating. Following the sharp share plunge this year, the $5.89 average analyst price target implies 37% upside potential over the coming 12 months. (See Coty stock analysis on TipRanks).Related News: KKR Joins $3.3 Billion Bid To Acquire Spanish Telecom Carrier Masmovil Amazon’s Jeff Bezos Invests In UK Freight Startup Beacon KKR Invests $1.5 Billion in Reliance’s Jio Platforms In Biggest Deal In Asia More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Free Version of WWE Network Now Available for Fans * Bristol Myers Reveals Positive Results For Ulcerative Colitis Pivotal Trial * Pfizer Embarks On $500 Million Investment Plan For Biotech Businesses * MongoDB Earnings Preview: Analysts Looking For Beat, Raise Quarter

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A technical snafu in a U.S. government system caused many small businesses to receive loans twice or more under a federal aid program to help businesses hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly a dozen people with knowledge of the matter said. The money mistakenly handed out could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars that the government and lenders – which made the loans – have been trying to identify and recover in recent weeks, one of the people briefed on the matter said. The technical issue and scale of the resulting duplicate deposits made under the Small Business Administration’s $660 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) have not been previously reported.

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Yext (YEXT) is gearing up to report its earnings this Thursday after the close, and ahead of this key date five-star RBC Capital analyst Mark Mahaney has reiterated his YEXT buy rating with an $18 price target (14% upside potential). Shares in the digital data manager are currently trading up 10% year-to-date.Going into the print, Mahaney believes FQ1 estimates are reasonable, with an equal likelihood of upside vs. downside variance. “We also view Street assumptions for FQ2 as reasonable (20% Y/Y revenue growth, and $0.13 Non-GAAP EPS loss) and would expect YEXT to maintain its FY2021 Revenue and EPS guides” he says.Specifically, the RBC analyst is forecasting FQ1 revenue of $86.3MM, above the Street at $84.3MM and in the middle of guidance ($85-$87M). His Adjusted EBITDA loss estimate of ($14MM) is below the Street at ($10.7MM), as is his Non-GAAP EPS loss estimate of ($0.14).For Mahaney, key items to focus on include EBITDA margins, remaining performance obligations, net dollar retention and further insight into Yext’s Answers solution, which helps businesses handle more complex queries on their website. Notably Yext launched a free 90-day trial of Yext Answers in response to Covid-19 and has been seeing material traction, reports the analyst.He notes that in FQ3, the company hit its target for quota-carrying sales reps of 250. “Coupled with the recent rollout of Answers, which brought in 29 deals for more than $1.5MM in new ACV in FQ4, top-line growth along with clear messaging around the continued execution around Answers will be of heightened importance” Mahaney told investors on May 29,Overall, the analyst continues to see upside for Yext as it becomes an increasingly essential solution for businesses seeking to manage their digital information- and it seems the Street shares this bullish approach.TipRanks shows that all four analysts covering the stock rate Yext a buy, giving it a firm Strong Buy consensus. The average analyst price target stands at $20 for upside potential of 28%. (See YEXT stock analysis on TipRanks).Related News: China’s Tencent To Pour $70B Into ‘New Infrastructure’ Including AI Alibaba Scores Earnings Beat With Revenue Surging 22% Y/Y Facebook Workplace Hits 5 Million Paid Users As Remote Work Demand Rises More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Free Version of WWE Network Now Available for Fans * Bristol Myers Reveals Positive Results For Ulcerative Colitis Pivotal Trial * Pfizer Embarks On $500 Million Investment Plan For Biotech Businesses * MongoDB Earnings Preview: Analysts Looking For Beat, Raise Quarter

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