Stocks are getting off to a flat start as oil once again slips down to $42 a barrel.
The S&P 500 is rising by 3 points to 2,172, the Dow Jones Industrial average is down by 8 points to 18,484 and the Nasdaq is gaining 17 points to trade at 5,114. The S&P Retail ETF is adding another 50 cents to sell at $45.44.
Under Armour Inc. stock is falling by 1 percent this morning to $43.13 after the sports apparel brand missed earnings estimates for the second quarter. The bankruptcy of Sports Authority and increased spending resulted in a drop profits. In a twist, Under Armour also said it is launching a new brand this fall called Under Armour Sportswear or UAS. Net income for the quarter fell a whopping 58 percent to $6.34 million, or 1 cents a diluted share, down from $14.8 million, or 3 cents, a year ago. The FactSet estimate was for earnings of 4 cents per share. Net revenues for the three months ended June 30 increased 28 percent to $1.001 billion from $784 million a year earlier. But this slightly missed the FactSet estimate for sales of $1.005 billion.
Gap Inc. was upgraded to Outperform from Peer Perform by Wolfe Research analyst Adrienne Yih and given a year-end 2017 price target of $30. The stock is popping over 2 percent to trade at $25.77 this morning in early trading. Yih believes that the upside earning potential is underappreciated and that Old Navy could stabilize and recover in the second half of 2016. Yih also thinks that positive inventory results are on the horizon. Additionally, Gap said that it is going to close 75 stores and Yih said that these closures will generate $275 million in pre-tax savings.
Nordstrom Inc. was also getting a boost from an upgrade by Piper Jaffray as the stock rose over 4 percent to $44.74 in early trading. The stock was moved up to overweight from neutral and the analyst increased the price target to $53 from $45. Piper said it sees signs of accelerating trends based on the retailer’s big anniversary sales event. The analyst also suggested that comparisons would become easier moving forward.
Inter Parfums Inc. jumped over 11 percent to $31.65 after receiving an upgrade to a Buy from B. Riley & Co.
In economic news, consumer confidence hit 97.3 in July, staying steady with June, which was revised to 97.4 from 98. It had been expected to fall to 95.8 according to a Thomson Reuters forecast.