Street View: Academy Sports and Outdoors' forecast cut seen as conservative

Academy Sports and Outdoors

11/09/2024 17:43

** Sports goods retailer Academy Sports and Outdoors  ASO.O  cut
annual sales forecast and reported Q2 sales below estimates on
Tuesday, hurt by weak consumer demand for outdoor gear and
products
    ** Shares down 1.2%; median PT of 19 brokerages covering the
stock is $65 - LSEG data
** At least five brokerages raise PT on the stock, while two cut
     
    ON TRACK TO MEET UPDATED FORECAST
     
    ** J.P.Morgan ("neutral", PT $52) says ASO took a
conservative stance with its updated forecast and can hit upper
end of the EPS forecast given the Q2 gross margin improvement
and ongoing solid cost control 
    ** Truist Securities ("buy", PT $63) says H2 sales outlook
is "de-risked", given solid results from new stores and benefits
from recent initiatives such as loyalty program and DoorDash
partnership
    ** TD Cowen ("hold", PT $56) says back-to-school performance
was better than expected and inventory level and merchandise
allocation are encouraging into holiday season
    ** Evercore ISI ("outperform", PT $65) says ASO "appears
stuck in the middle for the moment," lacking higher-end athletic
product lines (HOKA and On)
     ** Brokerage, however, says company is working to address
not only newness but value and traffic at the same time
  
** Jefferies ("buy", PT $64) "confident in ASO's ability" to
meet its updated FY forecast
     

(Reporting by Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru)
((mailto:Neil.JKanatt@thomsonreuters.com;))