Skechers U.S.A. (NYSE:SKX) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX) gapped down before the market opened on Friday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $73.00. The stock had previously closed at $50.49, but opened at $48.26. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Skechers U.S.A. shares last traded at $48.89, with a volume of 1,462,772 shares trading hands.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on SKX. Bank of America reduced their price target on Skechers U.S.A. from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Skechers U.S.A. from $77.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Skechers U.S.A. from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Skechers U.S.A. from $88.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Skechers U.S.A. from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Skechers U.S.A. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Skechers U.S.A. news, General Counsel Phillip Paccione sold 10,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.63, for a total transaction of $622,590.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $849,450. This trade represents a 42.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO David Weinberg sold 36,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.72, for a total value of $2,257,920.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 54,499 shares in the company, valued at $3,418,177.28. This trade represents a 39.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 218,245 shares of company stock worth $13,452,902 in the last 90 days. 24.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Skechers U.S.A.

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SKX. Verity Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Skechers U.S.A. by 3.3% during the first quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,254 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Skechers U.S.A. in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Patron Partners LLC increased its stake in Skechers U.S.A. by 12.0% during the first quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 3,903 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Skechers U.S.A. by 49.9% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 90,309 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $5,192,000 after purchasing an additional 30,053 shares during the period. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 29.3% in the 1st quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 26,402 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 5,980 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.96% of the company’s stock.

Skechers U.S.A. Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $54.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.68.

Skechers U.S.A. (NYSE:SKX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The textile maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.17. Skechers U.S.A. had a return on equity of 13.73% and a net margin of 7.13%. The company had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. On average, analysts expect that Skechers U.S.A., Inc. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Skechers U.S.A. Company Profile

Skechers U.SA, Inc designs, develops, markets, and distributes footwear for men, women, and children worldwide. The company operates through Wholesale and Direct-to-Consumer segments. It offers footwear under Skechers Hands Free Slip-ins, Skechers Arch Fit, and Skechers Air-Cooled Memory Foam brands.