GAP (NYSE:GAP) Stock Price Down 8.3% – Here’s What Happened

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) traded down 8.3% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $26.84 and last traded at $26.38. 800,083 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 6,992,852 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on GAP shares. UBS Group raised GAP from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $41.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of GAP in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $33.00 price objective on shares of GAP and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of GAP from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on GAP from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.38.

GAP Trading Down 6.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $10.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 2.32. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.51.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 25th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. GAP had a return on equity of 24.91% and a net margin of 5.57%.The firm had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at GAP

In other GAP news, Director Robert J. Fisher sold 500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.45, for a total transaction of $13,725,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,329,502 shares in the company, valued at $63,944,829.90. This represents a 17.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William Sydney Fisher sold 400,000 shares of GAP stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.02, for a total value of $10,808,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,853,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,100,300.06. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 1,349,044 shares of company stock valued at $36,857,065 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 31.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GAP

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of GAP by 101.0% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,184,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,453,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600,041 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in GAP by 42.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,407,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,318,322 shares during the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY acquired a new position in shares of GAP in the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,561,000. Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of GAP by 2,197.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 645,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,800,000 after purchasing an additional 617,073 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in GAP by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,195,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,816,000 after acquiring an additional 368,191 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.81% of the company’s stock.

About GAP

Gap Inc is a global specialty retailer renowned for its portfolio of apparel and accessories brands, including Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Athleta. The company designs, sources and markets clothing across a broad price range and style spectrum, catering to men, women and children. Its offerings extend from everyday wardrobe essentials such as denim, tees and outerwear to performance and lifestyle pieces, reflecting each brand’s distinct identity and price point.

Founded in San Francisco in 1969 by Donald and Doris Fisher, Gap Inc has grown into one of the world’s largest apparel companies.