UPDATE: Piper Jaffray Downgrades Body Central; Lowers PT

According to a research report published this morning, Piper Jaffray has downgraded Body Central

from Overweight to Neutral, and lowered PT from $30 to $24. In the report, Piper Jaffray commented, "We are lowering our rating on shares of BODY from Overweight to Neutral tied to our belief that the current apparel recovery cycle is less favorable for the mall-based, Fast Fashion retailers given the sequencing of how we think the consumer will rewardrobe. Simply stated, with newness in bottoms for the first time in several years, we believe the consumer is spending his/her incremental discretionary dollars on rebuilding the wardrobe, from the bottom up. As such, sales trends in the near term could be challenging for the mall-based, Fast Fashion group given that they index higher in tops/jewelry/dresses vs. the dual-gender specialty retailers." Body Central closed yesterday at $28.92.