Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $259.10, but opened at $244.14. Burlington Stores shares last traded at $239.16, with a volume of 378,499 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BURL shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Burlington Stores from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Burlington Stores from $287.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Burlington Stores from $344.00 to $340.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Burlington Stores from $297.00 to $269.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Burlington Stores from $330.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Burlington Stores currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $317.27.

Burlington Stores Stock Down 0.8%

The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $15.03 billion, a PE ratio of 32.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $239.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $259.98.

Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $4.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.75 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. Burlington Stores had a net margin of 4.49% and a return on equity of 47.52%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Burlington Stores, Inc. will post 7.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Jennifer Vecchio sold 4,939 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.94, for a total value of $1,185,063.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 70,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,797,239.64. The trade was a 6.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Travis Marquette sold 190 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.63, for a total value of $45,149.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 22,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,431,746.54. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Burlington Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BURL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Burlington Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $227,268,000. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Burlington Stores by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,160,096 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,470,929,000 after purchasing an additional 367,703 shares during the period. Alkeon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Burlington Stores during the 1st quarter valued at $71,499,000. Interval Partners LP boosted its position in Burlington Stores by 667.5% during the 1st quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 307,479 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,281,000 after buying an additional 267,419 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Burlington Stores by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 671,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $191,560,000 after buying an additional 240,144 shares during the period.

Burlington Stores Company Profile

Burlington Stores, Inc operates as a retailer of branded merchandise in the United States. The company provides fashion-focused merchandise, including women's ready-to-wear apparel, menswear, youth apparel, footwear, accessories, toys, gifts, and coats, as well as baby, home, and beauty products.