No fewer than 12 analysts initiated coverage of BIRK today
Birkenstock Holding PLC (NYSE:BIRK) made its market debut a little less than one month ago, opening at $41 after setting an initial public offering (IPO) price of $46. The brokerage bunch is now beginning to take stances on the Wall Street newbie, with 12 analysts starting coverage this morning.
Sentiment is all over the place, but Jefferies, Stifel, and Goldman Sachs all assumed "buy" ratings, while J.P. Morgan Securities and Telsey Advisory Group called BIRK "overweight." Several other analysts set price targets as well, with Citigroup issuing the highest at $57, and Bernstein the lowest at $37.15.
The security is down 0.7% to trade at $40.87 at last check. Shares peaked at $42.50 upon their Oct. 11 debut, and last week came just short of this region after bottoming out around the $35 level in mid-October.
Options volume is running at four times the intraday average, though absolute volume is still quite low. So far today, 250 calls have crossed the tape in comparison to just 28 puts, with the December 45 and 35 calls standing out as the most popular contracts, with new positions being opened at the latter.
Short sellers have been building their positions as well. The 2.14 million shares sold short make up 9.8% of Birkenstock stock's available float, though it wouldn't take long for shorts to cover their bearish bets if needed.