UPDATE - William Blair Initiates Coverage on Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) with a Market Perform; Expansion Has Been A Powerful Story, But Concerns Have Emerged
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Price: $107.49 +2.35%
Rating Summary:
14 Buy, 24 Hold, 5 Sell
Rating Trend:
Down
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 8 | Down: 5 | New: 26
Rating Summary:
14 Buy, 24 Hold, 5 Sell
Rating Trend:
Down
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 8 | Down: 5 | New: 26
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UPDATE - William Blair initiates coverage on Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) with a Market Perform.
Analyst Amy Wilcox Noblin said, ""While domestic rationalization and international expansion had been a powerful story for Abercrombie & Fitch more recently, several concerns have emerged...Negative comps in flagships, a slowdown in European mall store productivity, cannibalization in Europe, a promotional pullback in the United States, and higher inventories have called that thesis into question. Therefore, despite a much more compelling valuation, we believe the risk/reward profile is balanced at current levels without greater clarity on the international trend and the health of the domestic business."
"If recent events prove more macro-related than structural, we believe there is the potential for a compelling long-term story. Domestically, while much of Abercrombie's rebound since 2009 has been price-led, we believe there could be more sustainable legs to that story. Improved and expanded fashion offerings (in the face of a structural industry trend toward fast fashion), combined with a new focus on e-commerce and social marketing, are reconnecting the brand with the teen customer. This change, combined with the closure of underperforming stores, is narrowing the productivity gap versus peak and improving profitability."
To see more ratings on ANF, Click Here
Analyst Amy Wilcox Noblin said, ""While domestic rationalization and international expansion had been a powerful story for Abercrombie & Fitch more recently, several concerns have emerged...Negative comps in flagships, a slowdown in European mall store productivity, cannibalization in Europe, a promotional pullback in the United States, and higher inventories have called that thesis into question. Therefore, despite a much more compelling valuation, we believe the risk/reward profile is balanced at current levels without greater clarity on the international trend and the health of the domestic business."
"If recent events prove more macro-related than structural, we believe there is the potential for a compelling long-term story. Domestically, while much of Abercrombie's rebound since 2009 has been price-led, we believe there could be more sustainable legs to that story. Improved and expanded fashion offerings (in the face of a structural industry trend toward fast fashion), combined with a new focus on e-commerce and social marketing, are reconnecting the brand with the teen customer. This change, combined with the closure of underperforming stores, is narrowing the productivity gap versus peak and improving profitability."
To see more ratings on ANF, Click Here
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