What Happened?

Shares of alcohol company Brown-Forman (NYSE: BF.B) fell 5.8% in the afternoon session after Citigroup downgraded the stock to "Sell" from "Neutral" and lowered its price target. 

The bank also cut its price target on the shares to $27 from $30. This adjustment implied a more cautious outlook on the stock's future performance. The downgrade from the financial institution signaled concerns about the beverage company's prospects, which prompted the negative investor reaction.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy Brown-Forman? Access our full analysis report here.

What Is The Market Telling Us

Brown-Forman’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 8 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 7 months ago when the stock dropped 16.9% on the news that the company reported weak first quarter 2025 results which missed Wall Street's sales and earning estimates. Management called out macro headwinds that affected consumer confidence. The headwinds were expected to persist, dampening the near-term growth outlook. Overall, this was a challenging quarter.

Brown-Forman is down 22.3% since the beginning of the year, and at $28.89 per share, it is trading 32.4% below its 52-week high of $42.74 from December 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Brown-Forman’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $366.06.

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