Morgan Stanley analyst Simeon Gutman said that based on his initial assessment he thinks Home Depot shares could be down between 2%-4% today given the company's early 2020 guidance for 3.5%-4% comp growth and 14% EBIT margin. While he, and the buy-side, were already expecting below consensus guidance, Gutman said he had been modeling 4.5% comps and a 14.4% EBIT margin in 2020 and "did not anticipate the magnitude of the miss relative to expectations." Incremental margin pressure, due mostly to growing headwinds from shrink, as well as softer than expected sales growth seem to be the culprits leading to the weaker than expected guidance, added Gutman. He lowered his price target on Home Depot shares to $225 from $235 as he reduced his initial 2020 EPS estimate by 4% to $10.40 from $10.80. Following a period of temporary weakness, Gutman thinks the the stock could again work in 2020 and he keeps an Overweight rating on Home Depot.