Under Armour Analyst Roundup

Under Armour, Inc. UA beat analyst estimates for its 3Q 2014 earnings.

Under Armour reported EPS of $0.41 vs. analyst estimates of $0.40 but Morgan Stanley suggested that the market was looking for the company to beat by $0.04-$0.05.

As a result of the expectations, the company’s shares fell on Friday’s open before trading at $63.99 in the afternoon, down 0.54 percent.  Year-to-Date the stock is up 46.71 percent.

Deutsche Bank analysts were the most bullish on the stock while Credit Suisse was more skeptical about the the company’s outlook.

Below are highlights of what analysts thought after the earnings report, along with current ratings and price targets.

Credit Suisse - Neutral, $53 price target

3Q results and 4Q outlook was solid, but UA's pattern of guidance raises may be coming to an end. Apparel sales are slowing and we question whether expansion in footwear and international will be sufficient to sustain topline growth. Furthermore, we are concerned that higher footwear and international growth will require greater investments and limit margin expansion, as evidenced by preliminary 2015 targets.
Deutsche Bank - Buy, $78 price target

Reiterate Buy as (1) 4Q likely guided conservatively given intra-quarter visibility & DTC ramp, (2) the continued dominance of the athletic segment vs. negligible growth elsewhere in apparel & footwear, (3) UA’s strengthening 4Q P&L (Street EPS +34 percent y/y) suggests even further separation from ‘the rest of the sector’ than now, (4) '15 plan of +22 percent y/y rev./EBIT, which based on past initial conservatism, suggests Street is reachable/beatable.

Morgan Stanley - Equal-weight, no price target

The bottom line is Street FY14 and FY15 estimates are likely not changing, limiting stock volatility in our view: UA remains a strong, growing brand in a solid category with a large global opportunity in front of it. We continue to believe the women's business is probably not where UA wants it to be and we'll watch it closely, but it's not weak enough to derail the story right now. Moreover, better than expected international growth and building footwear momentum is offsetting.