Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Acquires 4,843,742 Shares of Amer Sports, Inc. $AS

Key Points

• Artisan Partners dramatically increased its Amer Sports stake by 1,306.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 4.84 million additional shares and bringing its total holding to 5.21 million shares worth about $194.8 million.
• Amer Sports beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.38 versus $0.31 expected and revenue of $1.95 billion versus $1.84 billion expected, with revenue up 32.1% year over year.
• Wall Street remains constructive on the stock, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $48.19, while several insiders recently sold shares, including the CEO.

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Amer Sports, Inc. (NYSE:AS - Free Report) by 1,306.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,214,439 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,843,742 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.94% of Amer Sports worth $194,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AS. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amer Sports during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Amer Sports by 484.8% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 848 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 703 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Amer Sports by 241.6% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,199 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 848 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Amer Sports by 174.3% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,591 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Amer Sports by 5,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,824 shares of the company's stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 1,792 shares during the period. 40.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AS shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Amer Sports in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Amer Sports from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $51.00 price objective on Amer Sports in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Amer Sports from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $52.00 price objective on Amer Sports in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $48.19.

Amer Sports Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AS opened at $35.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $35.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.23. Amer Sports, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.92 and a 52 week high of $42.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.71 billion, a PE ratio of 44.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 2.05.

Amer Sports (NYSE:AS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 19th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. Amer Sports had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 6.50%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 32.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. Amer Sports has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.180-1.230 EPS. Analysts predict that Amer Sports, Inc. will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amer Sports news, insider Wen-Chang (Victor) Chen sold 13,075 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.62, for a total value of $465,731.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 149,821 shares in the company, valued at $5,336,624.02. This represents a 8.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stuart Haselden sold 215,275 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.57, for a total value of $7,657,331.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 215,275 shares in the company, valued at $7,657,331.75. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 860,705 shares of company stock worth $30,156,939 over the last ninety days.

About Amer Sports

Amer Sports NYSE: AS is a Helsinki-based sporting goods group that designs, develops and markets performance-oriented equipment, apparel and footwear across multiple sports. The company focuses on product innovation, brand-driven marketing and global distribution to serve athletes and outdoor enthusiasts, offering goods for activities such as skiing, running, hiking, tennis, golf and diving.

Amer Sports' portfolio comprises well-known sports and outdoor brands, including Salomon (outdoor footwear and winter sports), Atomic (alpine skis and ski equipment), Arc'teryx (technical outerwear and climbing gear), Wilson (racquet and ball sports equipment) and Suunto (precision instruments and sports watches).

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