Skechers U.S.A. (NYSE:SKX) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $49.37, but opened at $61.79. Skechers U.S.A. shares last traded at $61.68, with a volume of 23,129,922 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Skechers U.S.A. from $78.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $63.00 price target (down previously from $73.00) on shares of Skechers U.S.A. in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James lowered Skechers U.S.A. from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Skechers U.S.A. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Skechers U.S.A. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.00.

Skechers U.S.A. Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $9.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.06. The company's 50 day moving average is $53.40 and its 200 day moving average is $62.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Skechers U.S.A. (NYSE:SKX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The textile maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Skechers U.S.A. had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 13.73%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Skechers U.S.A., Inc. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Skechers U.S.A. news, COO David Weinberg sold 26,913 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.76, for a total transaction of $1,635,233.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 44,637 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,712,144.12. The trade was a 37.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO John M. Vandemore sold 5,112 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.76, for a total transaction of $310,605.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 83,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,063,009.28. The trade was a 5.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 218,245 shares of company stock worth $13,452,902 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 24.78% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Skechers U.S.A.

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,544,233 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $843,474,000 after acquiring an additional 82,143 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Skechers U.S.A. by 15,774.3% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,949,844 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $224,272,000 after purchasing an additional 3,924,962 shares during the last quarter. Anomaly Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Anomaly Capital Management LP now owns 2,989,015 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $200,981,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011,815 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 7.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,482,980 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $140,984,000 after purchasing an additional 174,697 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,294,976 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $154,361,000 after buying an additional 78,071 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.96% of the company's stock.

About Skechers U.S.A.

Skechers U.SA, Inc designs, develops, markets, and distributes footwear for men, women, and children worldwide. The company operates through Wholesale and Direct-to-Consumer segments. It offers footwear under Skechers Hands Free Slip-ins, Skechers Arch Fit, and Skechers Air-Cooled Memory Foam brands.