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☆ TD Cowen upgrades Ross Stores, citing uptick in off-price retail traffic
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

TD Cowen thinks investors are overlooking a buying opportunity in Ross Stores . Analyst John Kernan upgraded the retailer's stock to outperform from market perform and raised his price target to $128 from $113. Kernan's price target implies upside potential of 14.5% from Wednesday's close. According to Kernan, data from Cowen's consumer tracking survey indicates a sequential uptick during May, June and July in visitation to off-price vendors such as Ross. The survey indicated that traffic in Ross Stores reached a peak of 25% in May before easing slightly in June, and then reaccelerating to 25% in July.

Persons: Cowen, John Kernan, Kernan, Ross, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Ross Stores Locations: Wednesday's

☆ Athleisure is everywhere. Here are the stocks benefiting from a growing love of comfortable clothing
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Though studies on the topic are hard to come by, anecdotal evidence points to a continued love for casual and comfortable items exiting the pandemic. The two stocks have diverged this year: Lululemon shares have advanced nearly 20%, while Nike shares have slid 7%. The majority of Wall Street views the stock favorably, with more than 70% of analysts rating it a buy or strong buy, according to Refinitiv. Deckers' shares are up 39% in 2023. DECK 5Y mountain Deckers shares over the last half decade Analysts see more upside ahead.

Persons: comfort's, Simeon Siegel, Ashley Owens, ONON, BMO's Siegel, Cowen's John Kernan, Baird, Jonathan Komp, Bank of America's David Roux, Roux, Hoka, Raymond James, Rick Patel, Patel, Jay Sole, Sole, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Wall Street, BMO Capital Markets, Companies, Street, Lululemon, Nike, Bank of America's, UBS

☆ Consumer spending trailing consumer sentiment lower. Look at Home Depot
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Recent consumer sentiment reports have been poor, so it's reasonable to assume the consumer spending backdrop has softened. The company is cutting guidance due to the weaker lumber prices, weather and is also citing "further softening of demand relative to our expectations, and continued uncertainty regarding consumer demand." If we are on the side of the American consumer (I am), then lower lumber prices are good, right? Running shoes are hot. Second case in point: On Holding (ONON), which makes the trendy ON running shoes, is up 94% YTD.

☆ How investors are playing the China reopening — from beer to travel stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Seema Mody | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

China is reopening and investors are ready for it. After a bruising 2022, hedge funds have been adding positions in Chinese stocks. Carter points out that even with China's outperformance this year, the MSCI China ETF is trading at 12 times earnings versus a Nasdaq valuation of 22 times earnings. HBSC analysts are recommending Yum China , saying the company is set to benefit from restaurants reopening. With the Lunar New Year underway, travel analyst Jake Fuller at BTIG raised his estimates on Booking Holdings for the first quarter citing "strong trends so far in January" and "China's reopening."

☆ Cowen upgrades Skechers, says footwear stock could rally nearly 40% as brand gains momentum
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Skechers has upside potential that Wall Street could be missing, Cowen said. Analyst John Kernan upgraded the stock to outperform from market perform. Kernan said Skechers remains the second most-liked casual sneaker brand in the U.S. with about 19% preference share, behind leader Nike at around 25%. Specifically, he's expecting 12% sales growth in 2023, above the Wall Street consensus of 9%. Kernan noted the Street may not have fully accounted for potential tailwinds coming from a supply chain recovery.

☆ Wall Street absolutely loves this retailer, poised to benefit from the industry's inventory issues
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The off-price retailer beat earnings expectations on Wednesday, reporting third-quarter earnings-per-share of 86 cents versus a StreetAccount estimate of 80 cents. Revenue, however, came in lower than expected, at $12.17 billion compared to the $12.3 billion expected by Wall Street. The glut of inventory in the retail space has helped lift TJX 's earnings, CEO Ernie Herrman said on the earnings conference call Wednesday. TJX's comparable-store sales were driven by the excellent performance of Marmaxx, particularly its apparel business, the company said. U.S. Marmaxx sales, which includes T.J. Maxx and Marshalls brand stores, rose 3%in the third quarter, while TJX's HomeGoods' comparable-store sales sank 16%.

☆ Yeezy without the Ye? Who is new ‘sole’ owner
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Jon Sarlin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

While the Adidas statement definitively closes the door on selling Yeezy branded products, according to legal experts I talked with, it opens the door for them to rebrand the existing Yeezy designs sans Ye. Haff told me that the “sole owner” sentence in Adidas statement is a legal “warning shot” to Ye. Could Ye now build out his own Yeezy fashion brand? Adidas’ Yeezy sneakers were some of the most coveted and influential shoes, often selling for thousands of dollars on the resale market. Last month, Cowen analyst John Kernan estimated that the Yeezy brand accounts for 4 to 8% of Adidas’ overall revenues.

NEW YORK, NY, Oct 19 (Reuters) - The Ghost of Christmas Past haunts U.S. store shelves, sales floors and stockrooms this year. Retailers were sitting on $548.8 billion of inventory in July, a 21.6% increase from last year, according to U.S. Census data. Even with retailers slashing prices by up to 40%, shoppers so far this year are hesitant to make major holiday purchases. Increased markdowns and slowed consumer demand may hurt companies' gross margins, said Cowen retail analyst John Kernan in an October note. Analysts are expecting gross margins to shrink for each of the companies next quarter, according to data from Refinitiv.

☆ The best stocks to play Gen Z and Millennial trends like TikTok and Instagram, according to Cowen
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Of those assets, 37.8% will be going to millennials and 15.8% to Gen Z or younger, the firm said. In the report, Cowen analysts highlighted their top ideas for durable free cash flow and earnings-per-share growth supported by positioning within the secular themes they found among Gen Z and millennial preferences and habits. What millennials and Gen Z buy — and how they do it — is increasingly influenced by social media platforms, like TikTok and Instagram, according to Cowen. Buying directly from brands Gen Z and millennials also like to shop directly from brands. "Lululemon's broadened merchandise offerings, paired with its community-based approach, are expanding its use case among consumers," Kernan noted.

Ralph Lauren Corp. aims to buy back more stock and boost its profit margins as it benefits from strong consumer demand after years of restructuring. Ralph Lauren bought back $234.7 million in shares and paid $48.1 million in dividends during the quarter ended July 2. “We already have momentum and that’s what’s giving us confidence,” Ms. Nielsen said. Ralph Lauren last month said its cash and cash equivalents totaled $1.46 billion as of July 2, down from $2.6 billion a year earlier. The next step would be to open more of its own stores, which in turn boosts e-commerce sales, Ms. Nielsen said.

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