(By Balachander) Brean Murray, Carret & Co. (BMC) is of the view that Lexmark International Inc.'s (NYSE:LXK) calendar year 2012 fundamentals are softening.
The Lexington, Kentucky-based maker of printers warned of lower second-quarter results amid weaker demand environment, particularly in Europe and a greater-than-expected impact from FX.
The company negatively preannounced results for the June quarter, guiding revenue and EPS to -12% and $0.87 - $0.89, from its previous revenue guidance of -7% to -9% and EPS guidance of $0.95 - $1.05. For the June quarter, the Street is at $0.98 EPS.
LXK also commented it expects demand softness to persist into 2H12.
"While LXK did not comment on its CY 2012 outlook, our sense is that EPS could end up around $4.00 (vs. prior CY 2012 guidance of $4.70 to $4.90)," BMC analyst Ananda Baruah wrote in a note.
Baruah has a "Hold" rating on the stock.
"Stock was down $2 in the aftermarket, and we could see it drifting to $20 if our $4.00 estimate is accurate," the analyst wrote.
Lexmark International is engaged in the supply of monochrome and color laser printers, laser multifunction products, inkjet all-in-one devices, dot matrix printers, and cartridges.
On Friday, the stock retreated 9.93 percent to trade at $21.90. Over the past year, shares have been trading in the range of $21.47 to $38.34.