Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $40.00 to $25.00. The stock had previously closed at $22.21, but opened at $20.86. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Victoria’s Secret & Co. shares last traded at $20.45, with a volume of 2,398,233 shares changing hands.

VSCO has been the subject of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays raised Victoria’s Secret & Co. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $33.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Victoria’s Secret & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.45.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Victoria’s Secret & Co.

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VSCO. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. by 146.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,757,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,856,000 after purchasing an additional 1,636,602 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Victoria’s Secret & Co. by 481.5% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,956,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,049,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,256 shares in the last quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Victoria’s Secret & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,861,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Victoria’s Secret & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $37,693,000. Finally, SRS Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Victoria’s Secret & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $37,011,000. 90.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Victoria’s Secret & Co. Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $34.65 and a 200-day moving average of $32.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.12, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. Victoria’s Secret & Co. had a return on equity of 44.74% and a net margin of 2.47%. Research analysts forecast that Victoria’s Secret & Co. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

About Victoria’s Secret & Co.

Victoria’s Secret & Co operates as a lingerie, clothing and beauty retailer. It offers bras, panties, lingerie, pajamas, sleep, sport and swim apparel, and beauty products. The company was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Reynoldsburg, OH.