Abercrombie & Fitch Shares Slump As BMO Downgrades To Market Perform

Abercrombie & Fitch shares slumped about 6% in midday trade Friday, after BMO Capital Markets downgraded the stock to market perform from outperform and said the pace of the teen retailer's recovery has been slower than expected. "We see earnings remaining under pressure for the time being, even as ANF works to offset top-line headwinds with cost reductions and better inventory management," BMO analysts wrote in a note. Abercrombie is taking the right steps, but its customers are not keeping up with the changes even in the face of increased discounting, said the note. Shares are down 3.9% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.1%.