Ann: 2023 Half-Year Results and 2023 Outlook, page-113

Appen's 34% drop in 1H key customer revenue may signify structural and cyclical changes to the data-annotation provider's global services business, Macquarie analysts say in a research note. They tell clients that increased competition from startups with more cost-efficient operating models is undermining Appen's growth in large-language models. Appen will likely need to raise capital, unless it can find additional cost savings or global-services revenue recovers, they say. Macquarie lowers the target price by 21% to A$1.02 and keeps an underperform rating on the stock. Shares are 1.0% higher at A$1.535

Macquarie really have it in for Appen, must have a large short position