Morgan Stanley Cuts GAP (NYSE:GAP) Price Target to $27.00

GAP (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $30.00 to $27.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price would indicate a potential upside of 18.79% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of GAP in a report on Friday, March 7th. Argus raised GAP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of GAP from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of GAP from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, GAP has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.43.

GAP Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE GAP traded down $0.14 on Tuesday, hitting $22.73. 562,837 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,912,923. GAP has a 52-week low of $16.99 and a 52-week high of $26.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $20.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.32.

GAP (NYSE:GAP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.07 billion. GAP had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 29.03%. Research analysts forecast that GAP will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at GAP

In related news, Director Elisabeth B. Donohue sold 3,539 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total transaction of $74,460.56. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,000 shares in the company, valued at $84,160. This represents a 46.94 % decrease 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, insider Julie Gruber sold 1,537 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.59, for a total value of $30,109.83. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,395 shares in the company, valued at $732,568.05. The trade was a 3.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 177,495 shares of company stock valued at $3,598,459 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 31.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GAP

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of GAP in the first quarter valued at $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in GAP during the first quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators bought a new position in GAP during the first quarter valued at about $81,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in GAP during the first quarter valued at approximately $91,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in GAP during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Institutional investors own 58.81% of the company's stock.

About GAP

Gap, Inc operates as a global apparel retail company, which offers clothing, apparel, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and children. The firm operates through the following segments: Gap Global, Old Navy Global, Banana Republic Global, Athleta, and Other. The Gap Global segment includes apparel and accessories for men and women under the Gap brand, along with the GapKids, BabyGap, GapMaternity, GapBody, and GapFit collections.

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