Hold Rating on Dr. Martens Plc Amid Mixed Financial Performance and Strategic Shifts

Morgan Stanley analyst Edouard Aubin has maintained their neutral stance on DOCS stock, giving a Hold rating on May 21.

Edouard Aubin has given his Hold rating due to a combination of factors surrounding Dr. Martens Plc’s recent financial performance and strategic direction. The company’s FY25 results showed a slight miss in topline revenue and reported profit before tax (PBT) compared to consensus expectations. However, on an adjusted basis, the PBT exceeded expectations due to higher than anticipated exceptional expenses, and the management forecasts FY26 adjusted PBT to align with market expectations, albeit at the lower end of the range.
Despite these financial results, Dr. Martens has introduced a new strategic vision under the leadership of CEO Ije Nwokorie, which aims to broaden customer recruitment through an expanded product collection and enhanced distribution and customer engagement strategies. While this new direction shows promise, the current economic uncertainty and mixed trading performance across different regions, particularly the challenging UK market, contribute to the Hold rating, as investors may prefer to wait for clearer signs of improvement before making more decisive investment moves.

In another report released on May 21, Goldman Sachs also maintained a Hold rating on the stock with a p66.00 price target.

Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 28 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is negative on the stock. This means that over the past quarter there has been an increase of insiders selling their shares of DOCS in relation to earlier this year.