Panmure Liberum has cut its recommendation on YouGov, the data and market research group, from 'buy' to 'hold', arguing the share price has risen far enough to remove the easy upside.
Analyst Sean Kealy raised his price target to 335p from 315p but said the stock, which has doubled in recent months, has now caught up with peer valuations.
YouGov shares were trading at 306.4p at the close on 13 October, giving the company a market capitalisation of £359 million.
Kealy lifted his earnings per share forecast for the financial year to July 2027 by 5%, citing stronger momentum in the company's Data Products division, which grew 7.8% in the second half of the last financial year.
He said a single large technology company contract drove much of that growth and contributed materially to the division in the second half, making him cautious about assuming the same run rate continues.
The Research division, which handles custom data projects, grew only 2.6% in the half, with Kealy noting that spending from major AI companies accounted for almost all the growth it delivered in the full year.
Shopper, the retail data unit, weakened in the second half and remains under review for a possible sale, with no pricing update from the company and the outlook described as difficult.
YouGov has launched a new product called Parallax, which combines synthetic and human data to compete with lower-cost AI-driven research tools, and has already won its first six-figure contract from it.
Kealy said product innovation is strong but the end market remains challenged, with client fee pressure increasing across the industry as cheaper AI alternatives gain traction.
He expects leverage to fall to 1.3 times earnings this year, and to 0.7 times in the following year.
