There is a positive view and negative view out from Wall Street today on Under Armour (UAA, UA) ahead of the company's earnings report on October 30.
Pivotal Research Group analyst Mitch Kummetz (new price target of $14): "UAA reports 3Q20 on Friday, October 30th before the market opens. In short, we believe that 3Q was a better backdrop than 2Q, as more stores were open and for longer in 3Q than 2Q. We also believe that 3Q was buoyed by strong interest in fitness, as was the case last quarter. Additionally, our survey work indicates that more open-to-buy dollars are flowing to athletic footwear for spring 2021, which bodes well for a better start to next year."
BTIG analyst Camilo Lyon (Sell, $5 price target): "UAA's stock has been strong over the last four weeks (+27% vs. SPX +2.5%) we believe largely due to improving digital traffic trends, which have turned positive for the first time this year. Specifically, our web traffic analysis has shown growth of +26% in Q3 after being down -19% and -29% the prior two quarters, respectively. Such a sharp turn in web traffic causes us to explore why, and more importantly if, there is a turn in the brand's perception. After many discussions with our industry contacts coupled with our own field work, we conclude that the turn in demand is not driven by a change in brand perception or product innovation. Rather, we suspect the turn in performance is primarily based on the recently relaunched web platform and generally improved search productivity (i.e., e-commerce blocking and tackling), a restocking of masks, and continued promotional activity during the quarter."
