The analyst raised the stock to "buy" from "neutral" with a $72 price target
Capri Holdings Ltd (NYSE:CPRI) is drawing mixed reviews from analysts this morning, with HSBC downgrading the stock to "hold" from "buy," while BTIG raised it to "buy" from "neutral." The latter also set a $72 price target -- suggesting the stock will rise 116% from yesterday's close -- and said the equity value is "dramatically underappreciated." To boot, the brokerage noted several structural gross margin tailwinds may be on the way for Capri, thanks to sales from Versace and Jimmy Choo. After the rave review, CPRI is up 1.8% at $33.97 at last check.
With help from the ascending 10-day moving average, CPRI broke past pressure at the $24 region earlier this month. Now trading at its highest levels since early February, the equity is up an impressive 135.6% in the last six months, though it is still carrying a year-to-date deficit of 10.5%.
There is plenty of room for additional upgrades and/or price-target hikes going forward, which could push CPRI even higher. Of the 16 analysts in coverage, 10 gave the stock a tepid "hold" rating. Plus, the 12-month consensus price target of $30.87 is a 9.6% discount to current levels.
Drilling down to today's options activity, 2,127 puts have crossed the tape, which is three times the average intraday amount, and more than double the number of calls traded. The expiring November 33.50 put is the most popular, followed closely by the 32 call in the same monthly series, with investors expecting to see a pullback by the end of the day.
Now certainly seems to be an ideal time to take advantage of CPRI's next move with options. The security's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 58% sits in the extremely low 11th percentile of its annual range. In other words, the stock sports attractively priced premiums at the moment.