Piper Jaffray Reiterates Overweight on Deckers Following Positive Meeting with COO

Following Thursday's meeting with Deckers Outdoor's

COO Zohar Ziv at the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City, Piper Jaffray's Erinn Murphy reiterated an Overweight rating and $68 price target on the stock. Murphy observed an expanded Spring/Summer 2014 product line at the show, with Deckers brands Teva & Sanuk and UGG moving beyond its traditional product offerings. Murphy also discussed inventory levels and gross margin levels with the Deckers management team, who reiterated comfort with its inventory as levels improved year over year. Last year's gross margin pressure stemming from sheepskin prices seem to be eased as management now projects sheepskin costs falling by 11 percent from last year. Murphy sees operating margins recovering from 12.4 percent towards 18-20 percent over time. Shares of Deckers have just opened for trade down about 0.2 percent to $57.51.