Bear of the Day: V.F. Corp (VFC)

VFC

V.F. Crop (VFC - Free Report) is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) that designs, manufactures and markets branded apparel and related products. The company operates under three segments which include Outdoor, Active and Work. Outdoor offers brands such as North Face, Timberland and Smartwool. Active offers Vans, Jansport, Eastpak and Eagle Creek. And Work offers Dickies, Walls, Kodiak and Horace Small.

The rally that never came.

Looking at the last three months, most stocks we see out there have a V-shaped chart. These stocks basically saw a move lower in March, bounced to February levels, and then some even kept going higher.

For VFC, there was very little love off the March lows. Yes, there was a 50% move off the $45 level. However, the stock has since been sold and is struggling to gain traction. Moreover, the stock remains almost 30% off of February levels.

Most traders will look at that chart and think “something is wrong here” so let’s look into the numbers and figure that out.

Earnings and Estimates

Back in May, the company reported a 1 cent miss on EPS, missed on revenues and suspended its share buyback program. VFC also guided Q1 Rev down to more than 50% year over year.

While the pandemic has been an issue, the company started seeing problems earlier in the year, with a 10% drop in the stock after earnings were reported in January.

Whether the pandemic or structural problems are to be blamed doesn’t matter at the moment. What does matter is the aggressive drop in estimates over the last 90 days.

For the next quarter, analysts have taken estimates lower by 63%, from $1.36 to $0.51. For the current year, we have seen an even bigger drop of 66%.

Technical Take

VFC recently made highs over the $70, but sellers quickly stepped in. The failure to reach the 200-day moving average about 10% higher from those highs signals weakness. The stock has held above the 21-day and 50-day at $59, but a break of that area would be troublesome.

The stock is starting to form an upwards channel, but should be monitored for a break lower if price gets below $56.

In Summary

Investors will likely be wasting their time sitting in VFC. If the company is one of interest, look for the estimates to turn around and a move above the 200-day before buying the stock.

These Stocks Are Poised to Soar Past the Pandemic

The COVID-19 outbreak has shifted consumer behavior dramatically, and a handful of high-tech companies have stepped up to keep America running. Right now, investors in these companies have a shot at serious profits. For example, Zoom jumped 108.5% in less than 4 months while most other stocks were sinking.

Our research shows that 5 cutting-edge stocks could skyrocket from the exponential increase in demand for “stay at home” technologies. This could be one of the biggest buying opportunities of this decade, especially for those who get in early.

See the 5 high-tech stocks now>>

Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"

From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.

It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.

This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.

Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>