The worst is over for Under Armour shareholders this year, according to one Wall Street firm.
Susquehanna raised its rating for the sports apparel company’s shares to neutral from negative, saying pessimistic expectations are now priced into the stock’s valuation.
Under Armour reported third-quarter revenue last month that fell short of analysts’ expectations and the company also reduced its full year outlook.
Our negative “thesis largely played out. Downside now more limited as Under Armour may have set the bar low enough to allow the company to hit the reset button,” analyst Sam Poser wrote in a note to clients Tuesday entitled “Upgrading to Neutral; Downside Limited, but UAA Must Protect Their House Better.”
“In any case, while North America will continue to be lackluster, weak trends are already baked into the Street’s base case.”
Under Armour shares are underperforming the market this year. Its stock is down 59 percent year to date through Monday versus the S&P 500’s 16 percent return.
Poser noted the company’s nearly 30 percent share drop following its third-quarter earnings results.
“After CEO Plank’s commentary about continued challenges in North America (NA) into FY18, the Street is already bracing for poor results for the foreseeable future,” he wrote. “Further, we believe Under Armour is becoming somewhat more cognizant of its recent mistakes.”
The analyst lowered his price target to $11 from $15 for Under Armour shares, representing 8.5 percent downside to Monday’s close.
Under Armour shares have finally bottomed out, analyst says