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Nike, Foot Locker and Under Armour, a trio of winners

By FashionUnited

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Athletic shoe and apparel makers have been outperforming

the wider footwear and apparel sectors. Triumph podium is for Nike, Foot Locker and Under Armour. Other traded companies benefiting from the momentum are Puma AG, Adidas and Columbia Sportswear.

Camilo Lyon, a Canaccord Genuity analyst who follows Nike, Foot Locker, Under Armour, Columbia Sportswear and Dick’s Sporting Goods, among other athlete-focused companies, says for the International Business Times  the cycle has been largely driven by “a trend in minimalist-slash-barefoot running,” noting “Nike’s product and Nike’s ‘Free’ shoe have been the driving force” in popularizing the trend.

In support of this statement, he notes the way Nike has been able to make their line of ultra-lightweight running shoe appealing to both the hard-core marathon-runner crowd and the Sunday jogger. Other products that are popular with the more dedicated runners, such as the distinctive-looking Vibram FiveFingers shoe, have not been able to go mainstream.

Late in adding to the buoyancy of the sector was Under Armour that exceeded analyst expectations on both earnings and revenue. The company, which reported earnings-per-share of 88 cents, a nickel over analysts’ predictions, is already up 18.21 percent for the month. While its price-to-earnings ratio at current share levels exceeds 50, a considerable premium over other apparel makers, the inflated pricing appears to be a reflection of expectations for the future.  Lyon, Canaccord Genuity analyst, says many see Under Armour as “today’s generation of Nike.”

Nike surged 0.76% Monday, to close at $95.07 and its overall traded volume was 3.29M shares during the last session against its average volume of 3.44M. NKE opened Tuesday at $94.34 and is trading within the range of $94.12-$95.93. The stock has a 52-week range of $69.43-$95.93. The market capitalization of the company stands at $44.08B and it has 463.67M outstanding shares. Nike Inc. has been gaining ground for the past 2 1/2 weeks. The stock rose above resistance Friday and closed at a new high for the year.
FashionUnited