Motorola Solutions (MSI) Stock Price Target Lowered at MKM

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Motorola Solutions (MSI) - Get Report are up by 0.27% at $70.73 Monday afternoon, after the company reported higher-than-expected 2016 first quarter results on Friday.

Despite the company beating analysts' expectations, MKM Partners lowered its price target on the stock to $69 from $74 and maintained its "neutral" rating earlier today.

"2016 first quarter revenue came in slightly higher than estimates on solid U.S. performance. However, the company is seeing macro and currency weakness in Latin America, tough comps and channel softness in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and weakness in China," the firm said in an investor note.

Motorola reported on May 6, 2016 first quarter adjusted earnings of 48 cents per share, above analysts' expectations of 41 cents per share, but down year-over-year from earnings of 55 cents per share. The communications equipment maker reported revenue of $1.19 billion for the 2016 first quarter, higher than expectations of $1.17 billion but 2% lower than 2015 first quarter revenue of $1.22 billion.

"The full-year outlook seems aggressive, in our opinion, due to soft secular trends for Motorola's products (vs. services), which still make up 60% of total sales," MKM stated, adding the company's global move to Valtech Solutions' (LTE) public safety networks is a "long-term headwind" for Motorola's products business.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings rated Motorola as a "hold" with a score of C.

TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon.

Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author. TheStreet Ratings has this to say about the recommendation:

The primary factors that have impacted this rating are mixed - some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks.

The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance and expanding profit margins. However, as a counter to these strengths, TheStreet Ratings also finds weaknesses including deteriorating net income and weak operating cash flow.

You can view the full analysis from the report here: MSI