UPDATE: Credit Suisse Downgrades Ralph Lauren; Lowers Price Target

In Monday's morning summary, Credit Suisse analyst Christian Buss downgraded Ralph Lauren Corporation RL from Outperform to Neutral and lowered the price target from $185 to $165. Buss explained the downgrade was due to worries that "accelerated" SG&A expenses due to the company attempting to globalize its operations will continue longer than expected and could stretch as far as FY17. Buss added that this suggests "sub 10 percent earnings growth for three years running". In addition to higher expenses due to expansion, Buss was disappointed with Ralph Lauren's retail sales and retail comps, both of which fell below his model estimates. Buss noted retail comps have been low for the past four quarters now despite improving industry conditions in Europe.