Piper Sandler downgrades Five9 to Neutral, lowers target to $21

As previously reported, Piper Sandler downgraded Five9 (FIVN) to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $21, down from $26. While shares look compelling on risk-reward and valuation bases, free cash flow has room to move higher, and Five9 is gaining broader CX share gradually, it is not really gaining share within CCaaS, isn’t as well-positioned upmarket as others, is facing more competition, and there have been multiple go-to-market shuffles over the last few quarters, the firm says. Growth is decelerating to less than 10%, and while management has given color for 2026 already that includes a re-acceleration in the second half of 2026 to more than 10%, it will likely take some time for this to play out and AI concerns continue to weigh on primarily seat-based models like Five9, Piper adds.