JPMorgan analyst Joseph Greff believes it is "way too early" to quantify the financial impact to Marriott (MAR) of the company's data breach, which he notes is large in terms of number of guests and "deep" in terms of the types of data - such as passport, credit card and address information - that may have been exposed. Marriot shares appear to be to be pricing in a "sizable permanent impact," given that the roughly 6% pullback implies $130M-$135M in lost net income using its current 2019 P/E multiple, Greff tells investors. His general view is that any damage done to the brand longer-term will likely be minimal, if there is any at all, adding that "consumers are growing somewhat numb to these events." In his conversations today, the "kneejerk comparison" has been to Equifax's (EFX) breach last year, but that comparison "is (much) too dire," Greff believes. He maintains an Overweight rating on Marriott shares.

Mizuho lowered the firm's price target on Marriott to $260 from $263 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The analyst cites a more conservative view on RevPAR ahead of the Q1 report for the target drop. RevPAR trends have been slightly weaker than previously modeled, primarily in the United States, the analyst tells investors in a research note.