Deutsche Bank downgraded GPS to "hold" from "buy"
Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS) is down 5.9% to trade at $7.83 this morning, and earlier slipped to a fresh two-year low of $7.79, as inflation data strains the retail sector. Plus, Deutsche Bank downgraded the security to "hold" from "buy," with a price-target cut to $9 from $12, citing CEO Sonia Syngal's abrupt exit and margin pressures. This note follows a barrage of bearish analyst attention yesterday.
Gap stock has been trekking down the charts for quite a while, and is now down 74.9% year-over-year. More recently, the security's 30-day moving average has played a hand in guiding the shares lower, while the $9.60 level capped GPS' last rally attempt in late June.
Analysts are now overwhelmingly pessimistic towards Gap stock. Of the 22 in coverage, 21 say "hold" or worse. It' also worth noting short interest rose 14% over the last two reporting periods, and represents 13.1% of the stock's available float.
Options traders are swooping in today, too, with 2,761 calls and 2,715 puts across the tape so far, for overall options volume that is double the intraday average. The July 8 call is the most popular, with positions being bought to open there, followed by the 8 put in that monthly series.