Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) Stock Price

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $11.00 to $7.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 6.54% from the stock’s current price.

GO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Telsey Advisory Group lowered shares of Grocery Outlet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $15.00 to $9.00 in a report on Thursday. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $11.50 price target on shares of Grocery Outlet in a report on Thursday, December 18th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Grocery Outlet in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Grocery Outlet has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $10.68.

Grocery Outlet Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of GO stock opened at $6.57 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $644.85 million, a PE ratio of -2.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.50. Grocery Outlet has a 1-year low of $6.20 and a 1-year high of $19.41. The business has a 50-day moving average of $9.64 and a 200 day moving average of $12.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.02). Grocery Outlet had a positive return on equity of 5.93% and a negative net margin of 4.80%.The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.15 earnings per share. Grocery Outlet’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Grocery Outlet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.450-0.550 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Grocery Outlet will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 1,030.4% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 2,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 2,308 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 591.5% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,739 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Grocery Outlet in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Grocery Outlet by 32.3% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. 99.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Grocery Outlet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Grocery Outlet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Grocery Outlet retained Gordon Brothers to market retail leasehold opportunities as part of its store-portfolio optimization, which could recover value from closed or underperforming locations. Gordon Brothers Retained by Grocery Outlet
• Neutral Sentiment: Management set FY2026 EPS guidance (about $0.45–$0.55), giving a baseline for expectations but signaling a recovery path that will depend on fixing value perception and comp trends. Q4 2025 earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results missed expectations: EPS of $0.19 vs. $0.21 estimate, revenue slightly below estimates, comps weakened. Management reported a large operating loss driven by $113.8M long‑lived asset impairment, $149.0M goodwill impairment and $45.9M of restructuring charges — contributing to a FY2025 net loss (reported coverage highlights these write‑downs). Investor Alert / Impairment Details
• Negative Sentiment: Company announced plans to close 36 stores after a $224.9M FY2025 net loss — a sign management is accelerating portfolio cuts but also acknowledging execution and merchandising issues that hurt traffic and margins. Grocery Outlet To Close 36 Stores
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple brokerages cut ratings and price targets (Jefferies, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, DA Davidson, Telsey, Craig Hallum), citing the downbeat quarter, weaker comps and the need to restore value perception — analyst downgrades amplify selling pressure. Analysts Slash Forecasts After Q4
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder‑side investigations have been announced (multiple firms), alleging possible misstatements around financials and operations — legal risk and potential disclosures add uncertainty. Ademi LLP Investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary and analysis point to weakening customer perception of value, increased promotional activity and competitive pressure — all factors that suggest the recovery could be prolonged. Why Grocery Outlet Stock Crashed Today

About Grocery Outlet

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: GO) is a specialty discount retailer that offers consumers deeply discounted groceries by purchasing excess inventory, closeouts, and overstocks from manufacturers and distributors. Headquartered in Emeryville, California, the company operates two primary banners—Grocery Outlet and Fresh2Go—with a combined footprint of more than 400 stores. Its product assortment spans fresh produce, meat, dairy, bakery items, household staples, natural and organic offerings, and select specialty products, all sold at significant markdowns compared to conventional supermarkets.

The company’s unique buying model enables it to source inventory through opportunistic purchases of surplus freight, discontinued items, and closeout deals, which it then passes on as savings to its customers.