Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) Upgraded by Morgan Stanley to Overweight Rating

Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) was upgraded by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $63.00 price objective on the apparel retailer’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $41.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 14.52% from the company’s previous close.

URBN has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Urban Outfitters from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Urban Outfitters from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America raised their target price on Urban Outfitters from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group upped their price target on Urban Outfitters from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Urban Outfitters from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Urban Outfitters presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.64.

Urban Outfitters Price Performance

URBN stock opened at $55.01 on Tuesday. Urban Outfitters has a 12 month low of $33.86 and a 12 month high of $59.05. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.55.

Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.25. Urban Outfitters had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 15.86%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. Urban Outfitters’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Urban Outfitters will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Urban Outfitters news, Director Harry S. Cherken, Jr. sold 55,000 shares of Urban Outfitters stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.31, for a total value of $3,152,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 510,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,245,063.76. The trade was a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 31.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Urban Outfitters

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Urban Outfitters by 138.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 609 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Urban Outfitters by 36.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 759 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in Urban Outfitters by 1,825.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 924 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Urban Outfitters in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Urban Outfitters during the third quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 77.61% of the company’s stock.

About Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters, Inc engages in the retail and wholesale of general consumer products. The company operates through three segments: Retail, Wholesale, and Nuuly. It operates Urban Outfitters stores, which offer women's and men's fashion apparel, activewear, intimates, footwear, accessories, home goods, electronics, and beauty products for young adults aged 18 to 28; and Anthropologie stores that provide women's apparel, accessories, intimates, shoes, and home furnishings, as well as gifts, decorative items, and beauty and wellness products for women aged 28 to 45.