FICO slides on Wall Street downgrades

** Credit-scoring giant Fair Isaac Corporation FICO.N shares slide 9.2% premarket on Mon to $739.94 after analysts downgrade rating, cut PTs

** Wells Fargo lowers rating to 'equal weight' from 'overweight' and slashes PT from $800 to $735 following FICO's lower-than-expected 2027 pricing announcement

** Co late Fri said it will hold its wholesale mortgage price at $10 for lenders enrolled in its Preferred Program in exchange for a commitment to pull a FICO score 100% of the time

** Wells Fargo says it previously expected FICO to raise prices meaningfully in 2027, adding that its checks "suggested most lenders would still pull both FICO and VantageScore (VS) to game the GSEs"

** However, Wells Fargo now anticipates "significant adoption" of FICO’s Preferred Program which should help maintain FICO usage, but limit earnings upside

** JP Morgan maintains 'neutral' and chops PT from $1,530 to $900, saying without the benefit of meaningful mortgage score price hikes, FICO appears to profile closer to a mid-single-digit percentage rev growth business

** BMO reduces its PT from $1,150 to $897

** Avg rating of 23 brokerages is "buy"; median PT $951.50, per LSEG data

** Earlier this month, FICO said it would reduce its workforce by 15% as part of AI-driven restructuring

** Last month, US Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) directed mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to allow all lenders to use VantageScore, a rival credit scoring model developed by Equifax EFX.N, Experian EXPN.L and TransUnion TRU.N

** On Sept 29, FICO stock plunged ~27% after FHFA Director Bill Pulte said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would move to a single pricing grid for both VantageScore and FICO scores

** At close on Fri, stock has shed 52% YTD