Crocs (NASDAQ:CROX) Raised to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Crocs to “strong buy” from “buy.” Overall analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “moderate buy” rating and an average price target of $158.30.
• Crocs exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $3.69 versus the $3.31 consensus and revenue of approximately $1.04 billion, up 4.7% year over year.
• CROX shares opened at $150.52, near their 52-week high of $154.05, while institutional ownership stood at 93.44%; one director bought shares, but CEO Andrew Rees sold a portion of his holdings.

Crocs (NASDAQ:CROX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts have also commented on CROX. Robert W. Baird set a $163.00 price target on Crocs in a research report on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $128.00 price target on shares of Crocs in a research note on Friday. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Crocs from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Seaport Research Partners upped their price target on shares of Crocs from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $184.00 price target on Crocs in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $158.30.

Crocs Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ CROX opened at $150.52 on Friday. Crocs has a fifty-two week low of $73.21 and a fifty-two week high of $154.05. The company has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.56. The business's 50 day moving average price is $120.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Crocs (NASDAQ:CROX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The textile maker reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. Crocs had a net margin of 16.20% and a return on equity of 49.35%. The firm's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.92 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Crocs will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Crocs news, Director Beth Kaplan bought 885 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $112.12 per share, with a total value of $99,226.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 15,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,710,839.08. This represents a 6.16% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Rees sold 19,072 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.91, for a total transaction of $2,649,291.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 713,293 shares in the company, valued at $99,083,530.63. The trade was a 2.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crocs

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Crocs during the second quarter worth approximately $561,223,000. Patient Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crocs in the second quarter valued at approximately $96,443,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Crocs during the 2nd quarter worth $39,610,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Crocs in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,820,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Crocs by 450.1% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 166,345 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $20,068,000 after purchasing an additional 136,106 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Crocs

Here are the key news stories impacting Crocs this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly earnings and revenue beat expectations. Crocs reported adjusted EPS of $3.69 versus the $3.31 analyst consensus, while revenue increased 4.7% year over year to approximately $1.04 billion, ahead of estimates near $1.00 billion. Crocs quarterly earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its full-year forecast for the third consecutive time. Crocs now expects 2026 revenue growth of approximately 3%, up from its prior 1%–2% outlook, and projects fourth-quarter revenue growth of roughly 7%–9%. Crocs Q3 results and outlook
• Positive Sentiment: HEYDUDE returned to growth. HEYDUDE revenue increased about 6%, easing concerns about the struggling brand and strengthening the case for a broader recovery. Crocs Brand revenue also grew approximately 4.4%. Reuters HEYDUDE turnaround article
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability and shareholder returns improved. Gross margin expanded to 66.2% from 58.5% a year earlier, operating income rose more than 40%, and the company repurchased approximately $250 million of stock during the quarter.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts became more bullish. Barclays raised its price target to $178 and assigned an “overweight” rating, while Needham raised its target to $190 and reiterated a “buy” rating. Barclays CROX rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical coverage highlights that CROX has moved above its 20-day and 50-day moving averages and reached a new 52-week high, signaling positive momentum but also increasing the risk of profit-taking after the sharp advance. CROX moving average analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary notes that international growth is helping offset weaker U.S. performance, while tariff-related benefits and buybacks contributed to the earnings improvement. These factors could make comparisons less favorable if they do not persist.

Crocs Company Profile

Crocs, Inc is a global footwear company best known for its Crocs brand of casual, lightweight shoes. Its product portfolio includes clogs, sandals, slides, boots and other casual footwear, along with accessories such as Jibbitz charms, which are designed to personalize Crocs shoes.

The company was founded in 2002 and introduced its first clog that year. Crocs has expanded from its original molded footwear into a broader lifestyle brand, offering products for women, men and children through company-operated and third-party retail stores, e-commerce platforms and wholesale partners.

In 2022, Crocs completed its acquisition of HEYDUDE, adding the casual shoe brand to its portfolio.

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