Fitbit Holiday Sales Exploding'; Analyst Says 'We Would Be Buyers' Of Stock

Fitbit Inc

holiday sales are exploding. Analysts such as Pacific Crest Securities say they "would be buyers" of the stock with sentiment fairly negative, CES coming up and continued corporate wellness traction likely, the firm commented in their research report. FIT shares are up 2.5 percent at $28.46. Pacific Crest's Brad Erickson reiterated an Overweight rating on the company's shares, and a $47 price target. Erickson noted that FitBit's "in-store demand came back in a big way since our Black Friday checks indicated disappointing sell-through a few weeks ago." Brad Erickson expects FitBit to beat its Q4 expectations. Pacific Crest noted that FitBit's shares have been "exploding" in "recent weeks." Erickson said that one-third of Best Buy Co Inc

stores are "struggling" to meet demand for Fitbit's Change HR devices. According to the analyst, the company's sell-through run rates have doubled this month versus November, and its inventory has dropped. The company's post-black Friday checks have significantly improved. "Fitbit has seen 30 percent to 40 percent of its sales online on an annual basis, meaning that 50 percent or higher in the gift-giving holiday quarter was plausible. We are obviously encouraged by seeing in-store demand come back so strongly as a proxy for overall demand, " the firm noted. Pacific Crest also noted FitBit's corporate wellness is a significant and growing opportunity. "Whilebears will continue to latch on to the likely longer-term headwinds for the consumer business, we note that corporate wellness is a huge and growing opportunity for which Fitbit is in the lead, and this remains heavily discounted by most investors we talk to," the firm commented.