William Blair downgrades Qualtrics, sees higher bid as unlikely

William Blair downgraded Qualtrics to Market Perform from Outperform after Silver Lake and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board announced an offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares not currently owned by Silver Lake for $18.15 per share in cash. The analyst believes a seven times revenue valuation is "largely fair" for a company that is expecting growth to be around 14% next year. While the proposal is yet to be finalized, a materially higher bid is unlikely, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes the deal is likely to get completed with Silver Lake.