Skechers Upgraded On Improved Wholesale Business, Trends In Kids And Athletic

Skechers USA Inc. was upgraded to positive from neutral at Susquehanna Financial Group on an expected inflection in the domestic wholesale business. The price target was raised to $32 from $25. Susquehanna analysts met with Skechers' Chief Operating Officer David Weinberg and some of the company's retail accounts, and performed retail checks. They believe Skechers' domestic wholesale business can return to mid-single-digit growth by the third quarter and then accelerate. Response to the new You by Skechers and Energy Lights collections has been positive. And trends in kids and athletic shoes favor Skechers. Susquehanna believes the shoe company will be positioned to benefit by spring 2018. Skechers was also upgraded last week by Citigroup on the belief that the wholesale business will grow. Skechers shares are up more than 2% in Monday premarket trading, and up 7.5% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 9% for 2017 so far.