The firm downgraded<\/strong> the toy giant to its lowest rating<\/strong> and set a price target below where the stock currently trades.\u00a0<\/p>\n For the company behind Barbie<\/strong> and Hot Wheels<\/strong>, this is a tough verdict.<\/p>\n The call lands at a noteworthy moment. Mattel shares are already trading close to their weakest level in years<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Therefore, a fresh warning<\/strong> from Goldman Sachs carries more weight for anyone still holding the stock.<\/p>\n On July 9, Goldman Sachs cut Mattel to sell<\/strong>from<\/strong>neutral<\/strong> and lowered its 12-month price target to $12 from $15<\/strong>, Investing.com reported.<\/p>\n A sell rating from a bank of Goldman’s size is rare, and it tells investors the firm sees more room to fall than to rise from here.<\/p>\n Analyst Stephen Laszczyk called Mattel a hard company to run<\/strong> over the next six to 12 months, with more moving parts than most.<\/p>\n JHVEPhoto / Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The change in rating did not come abruptly. Goldman’s view of Mattel has cooled in stages<\/strong> all year.<\/p>\n The bank held a buy<\/strong> rating with a $21<\/strong> target into early 2026, then Goldman downgraded<\/strong> the stock to neutral in January<\/strong>, Investing.com reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n Goldman warned that tariffs<\/strong> and softer toy demand<\/strong> could weigh on results.<\/p>\n Goldman also reset how it values the stock, moving to 8 times<\/strong> its 2027 earnings estimate from 10 times<\/strong>, Barron’s noted.<\/p>\n That shift matters. Goldman is now pricing Mattel like a slow-growth consumer products company<\/strong> rather than a premium entertainment name.<\/p>\n This limits how much investors may be willing to pay.<\/p>\n Mattel shares slipped about 1.7%<\/strong> in premarket trading<\/strong> after the note, adding to a decline of 35% to 39%<\/strong> over the past six months<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The stock now hovers near $13<\/strong>, just above a 52-week low of $12.73<\/strong>, so Goldman’s $12 target implies only a single-digit<\/strong> additional decrease from here.<\/p>\n Related: Netflix has a stunning milestone in sight for 2027<\/strong><\/p>\n There is a real tension surrounding the situation. Mattel actually beat expectations<\/strong> in the first quarter<\/strong>, posting revenue of about $862 million<\/strong> against forecasts near $809 million<\/strong>, Yahoo Finance reported.<\/p>\n Q1 sales rose about 4%,<\/strong> led by vehicles<\/strong> and newer categories<\/strong>, though tariffs and currency cut into margins.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, Goldman’s concern is less about current sales<\/strong> and more about whether the<\/strong>next phase of growth shows up on time<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Goldman is not the only party pushing Mattel.\u00a0<\/p>\n Southeastern Asset Management<\/strong> has argued that the company would be better off sold<\/strong> to a private equity firm, rival, or media company, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n More Retail Stocks:<\/strong><\/p>\n For investors, that leaves two competing views. Goldman sees a company that could stumble<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Southeastern sees one worth buying<\/strong>. Either way, the second half of 2026 is when Mattel has to show which side is right.<\/p>\n Goldman did not rule out a turnaround<\/strong>. It named clear signs that could bring Mattel back to a more positive view.<\/p>\n This also serves as a watchlist for investors.<\/p>\n If Mattel’s next few quarters show Barbie growing steadily and its new bets paying off, the bearish case weakens. If not, Goldman’s caution looks well placed.<\/p>\n None of this is a recommendation to buy or sell. Stocks at multi-year lows can still drop or suddenly bounce, so investors should trade based on risk tolerance.<\/p>\n Related: Paramount\u2019s Warner deal has a new $650 million problem<\/strong><\/p>\n #Goldman #Sachs #turns #bearish #Barbie #maker<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Wall Street has spent most of 2026 losing patience with Mattel (MAT), and Goldman Sachs just made that clear. The firm downgraded the toy giant to its lowest rating and… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[246],"tags":[13276,8306,1360,4884,1361,1605],"class_list":["post-11883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-popular","tag-barbie","tag-bearish","tag-goldman","tag-maker","tag-sachs","tag-turns"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What Goldman Sachs said in its Mattel downgrade<\/h2>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thestreet.com\/.image\/NDA6MDAwMDAwMDAzMTEwNTE0\/mattelheadquarters_pl_100726.jpg?profile=rss\")
Why Goldman soured on Mattel<\/h2>\n
Three problems Goldman flagged<\/h3>\n
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How Mattel stock is holding up against the pressure<\/h2>\n
Activist pressure adds another layer for Mattel investors<\/h2>\n
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What would have to change for Mattel stock to recover<\/h2>\n
Three things Goldman wants to see<\/h3>\n
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