Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $17.00 to $22.00. The stock had previously closed at $22.79, but opened at $23.41. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Victoria’s Secret & Co. shares last traded at $23.28, with a volume of 213,311 shares changing hands.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on VSCO. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $47.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $40.00 to $35.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays reduced their target price on Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $38.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Victoria’s Secret & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.55.

Insider Transactions at Victoria’s Secret & Co.

In other Victoria’s Secret & Co. news, major shareholder International Pte Ltd Bbrc purchased 80,328 shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.78 per share, with a total value of $1,347,903.84. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,255,347 shares in the company, valued at $155,304,722.66. This trade represents a 0.88% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders purchased a total of 1,503,973 shares of company stock valued at $26,617,312 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Victoria’s Secret & Co.

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in Victoria’s Secret & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Victoria’s Secret & Co. by 1,898.1% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 1,955 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Victoria’s Secret & Co. by 326.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 1,682 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in Victoria’s Secret & Co. by 47.1% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Victoria’s Secret & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $112,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.29% of the company’s stock.

Victoria’s Secret & Co. Trading Up 3.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.12, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.25.

Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. Victoria’s Secret & Co. had a return on equity of 44.74% and a net margin of 2.47%. Equities research analysts forecast that Victoria’s Secret & Co. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

About Victoria’s Secret & Co.

Victoria’s Secret & Co operates as a lingerie, clothing and beauty retailer. It offers bras, panties, lingerie, pajamas, sleep, sport and swim apparel, and beauty products. The company was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Reynoldsburg, OH.