Peloton's Value Dips $9.2B As U.S. Economy Slogs To Normalcy

Peloton Interactive Inc. shares closed 35.3% lower on Friday, wiping off about $9.2 billion in market value as analysts predicted a tough path ahead for the pandemic darling amid a return by economies to normalcy.

Photo Insert: The company has also been plagued by recalls.

It also halted hiring in all departments with immediate effect during an all-hands meeting, according to a CNBC report. Peloton did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

At least 15 analysts lowered their price target on the Peloton stock after the company cut its annual sales forecast by up to $1 billion and reported its slowest quarterly sales growth in more than a year.

Wedbush analyst James Hardiman, rated five star by Refinitiv, dubbed Peloton's "fall from grace" in such a short period of time as "fairly astonishing."

Peloton's near-term sales is clouded by slowing traffic online, a shift to the lower-priced Bike, and slower adoption of Tread, Dana Telsey of Telsey Advisory Group, another highly rated analyst, said in a note.

Telsey cut her rating to “market perform” from “outperform,” but along with a few other brokerages, she remained positive about its long-term prospects.

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