Wall Street Zen Downgrades Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) to Sell

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on LESL. Jefferies Financial Group set a $3.75 target price on shares of Leslie’s and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Leslie’s in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley set a $3.50 target price on shares of Leslie’s in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of Leslie’s from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $3.00 price target on shares of Leslie’s in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $23.81.

Leslie’s Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:LESL opened at $1.67 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.51 million, a PE ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 1.32. Leslie’s has a 12-month low of $1.60 and a 12-month high of $48.60. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.93.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LESL. Ariel Investments LLC lifted its position in Leslie’s by 15.1% during the first quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 58,177,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,789,000 after purchasing an additional 7,649,626 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Leslie’s in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,543,000. King Street Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Leslie’s in the 2nd quarter valued at about $630,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Leslie’s by 61.3% in the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 3,570,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,499,000 after buying an additional 1,356,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Leslie’s by 701.5% during the first quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,373,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,011,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202,568 shares during the period.

About Leslie’s

Leslie’s, Inc (NASDAQ: LESL) is the largest direct-to-consumer retailer of swimming pool supplies and related equipment in the United States. Through a network of more than 900 company-operated stores and a robust e-commerce platform, the company offers a comprehensive range of pool chemicals, cleaning tools, pumps, filters, heaters and pool accessories. In addition to product retailing, Leslie’s provides in-store and in-home water testing services, equipment installation, repair and ongoing maintenance programs designed to support both residential and commercial pool owners.

Founded in 1963 in North Miami Beach, Florida, Leslie’s has grown from a single neighborhood pool-supply shop into a national specialty retailer.