| Over a week ago | ||||
ndaba Capital Management,… ndaba Capital Management, L.P., a significant shareholder of Benefitfocus, issued a letter to the company's Board of Directors. In addition, Indaba filed a Schedule 13D Amendment with the U.S. SEC and disclosed its recent communications with the Company. The letter says in part: "In addition to owning approximately 9.6% of the Company's outstanding common shares, we hold approximately 22.9% of the outstanding issue of the 1.25% convertible senior notes. We are writing to you today to convey three primary points: We are extremely disappointed with the Board of Directors' decision to undermine our private discussions by unilaterally announcing incremental governance changes that should represent the start - not the conclusion - of boardroom improvements. The Company's long-term underperformance and years of negative returns stem from an array of governance, operational and strategic failures that the Board still seems reluctant to substantively address. The Company should adopt our logical suggestions, that include refreshing the Board with additional, diverse, independent directors and forming a special committee to conduct a credible review of strategic alternatives, including a sale of Benefitfocus." | ||||
| Over a month ago | ||||
Piper Sandler analyst… Piper Sandler analyst Sean Wieland lowered the firm's price target on Benefitfocus to $20 from $29 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The analyst revised his model to more closely align with recent company commentary regarding the "suppressive impact" of COVID-19 on the fiscal 2020 benefits selling season. He's "encouraged" by Benefitfocus' renewed focus on software-as-a-service based, recurring revenue, but sees a lack visibility and recognizes the "execution risk inherent to this, and every, potential recovery." | ||||
Raymond James analyst… Raymond James analyst Brian Peterson corrects his prior research note earlier today that called South Carolina's award for statewide benefits administration system contract to Morneau Shepell a "missed opportunity" for Benefitfocus. The analyst states that after speaking with the company, he learned that Benefitfocus did not bid on the opportunity as the RFP called for a perpetual software license - a model which the company does not offer. Peterson still keeps his Market Perform on Benefitfocus shares. | ||||
Raymond James analyst… Raymond James analyst Brian Peterson notes that the state of South Carolina announced that it would award its statewide benefits administration system contract to Morneau Shepell. The news is relevant for Benefitfocus as this represent one of the larger contract opportunities that the analyst was tracking for the company, with the contract amounting to about $41M over 7 years. While Peterson doesn't yet have details on how much functionality versus price played a role in the state's decision, he was optimistic that Benefitfocus' home court advantage would have given them an advantage in securing the business. This takes a potential opportunity off the board, the analyst adds. He has a Market Perform on the shares. | ||||
Raymond James analyst… Raymond James analyst Brian Peterson downgraded Benefitfocus to Market Perform from Outperform without a price target. Peterson expects the initial 2021 revenue outlook to fall short of consensus projections and doesn't believe the consensus properly reflects incremental growth drivers for 2021. The analyst notes that the downgrade is in no way reflective on recently appointed CEO Steve Swad, who Peterson expects to drive improved margin and cash flow levels over the next several years. | ||||
Raymond James analyst… Raymond James analyst Brian Peterson downgraded Benefitfocus to Market Perform from Outperform without a price target. The analyst views 2021 consensus estimates as "aggressive." |
| Over a quarter ago | ||||
Cantor Fitzgerald analyst… Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Steven Halper downgraded Benefitfocus to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $12, down from $20, following the company's Q3 results. The analyst does not expect many positive catalysts for the next 2-3 quarters, and COVID continues to create a challenging near-term headwind. With limited upside potential, Halper says the risk/reward tradeoff is no longer compelling, and needs to see a return to more consistent, solid growth before becoming more constructive on the shares. | ||||
Cantor Fitzgerald analyst… Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Steven Halper downgraded Benefitfocus to Neutral from Overweight with a $12 price target. | ||||
Benefitfocus announces… Benefitfocus announces the appointment of John Thomas to the newly created role of Chief Data Officer. Thomas will lead the company's data strategy and work with its technology organization to define and deliver new data-driven applications that delight Benefitfocus' customers and strengthen its market-leading benefits technology platform. Thomas has more than a decade of data experience in mobile analytics, customer journey optimization, social media and online advertising. He formerly served as executive vice president of data science at Red Ventures, is the current president of the Analytics & Big Data Society, and is an advisory board member for Wake Forest University's Masters of Business Analytics program. Thomas holds a master's degree and a Ph.D. in computer science from Dartmouth College and a bachelor's degree in mathematics and computer science from Gettysburg College. | ||||
Benefitfocus announced… Benefitfocus announced Robin Kirby joined the company as its Chief Human Resources Officer. Kirby formerly served as Senior Vice President of HR for USAA and is a current member of the Forbes HR Council. Kirby will be responsible for Benefitfocus' future-of-work strategies and expanding its talent acquisition and development capabilities in all areas. Kirby has more than 20 years of HR experience and has held HR leadership roles in companies such as Infosys, Symantec and General Electric. Her industry experience crosses technology, financial services and health care. Kirby holds a master's degree in Human Resources from the University of South Carolina and received her bachelor's degree from Coastal Carolina University. | ||||