FRANKFURT/NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) : Buoyed by a positive analyst note, Puma shares extended their recent recovery on Tuesday. The sportswear manufacturer's stock climbed more than 5 percent at one point, reaching its highest level since its late-May peak of €30.31 and continuing the upward momentum established last week. By late morning, the shares were trading up 2.8 percent at €28.78, making them one of the top performers on the MDax.
In contrast, shares of rival Adidas fell by 1.1 percent, ranking among the weakest performers on the Dax. Nike shares remained largely unchanged in U.S. pre-market trading.
The British bank HSBC upgraded Puma from 'Hold' to 'Buy' and raised its price target from €26 to €35. Analyst Akshay Gupta views the 29 percent stake held by Chinese sportswear giant Anta Sports in the Herzogenaurach-based company as a "catalyst for unlocking significant growth opportunities, particularly in the crucial Chinese market."
He anticipates that Puma will benefit from Anta's local market expertise and leverage the majority shareholder's distribution network in the region. While Gupta considers the current year a transition phase, he expects Puma to gain significant momentum thereafter. Consequently, he raised his earnings forecasts (EBIT) for 2027 and 2028 by an average of 8 percent.
RBC analyst Piral Dadhani also referred to a transition year for Puma last week, clarifying that it remains too early for a more optimistic assessment. He also moved to the sidelines regarding Nike: although the U.S. competitor is making progress under CEO Elliott Hill, the pace and scale of the turnaround are slower than previously anticipated.
Sportswear stocks have been in the spotlight for several days, primarily due to the FIFA World Cup in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, where all three brands are featured as team kit suppliers. However, whether investors can derive lasting benefits from the World Cup remains questionable, according to a recent note by Marc Decker, Co-Head of Equities at Quintet, the parent company of private bank Merck Finck. While the global football governing body FIFA generates billions in revenue and companies can emotionally charge their brands globally, studies and market analyses show that this attention translates into sustainable share price gains only to a limited extent.
According to Decker, the reasons are clear: for globally diversified corporations, the direct financial effects of a World Cup are often too small to decisively alter fundamental valuations. Furthermore, expected revenue boosts are usually priced in by the markets well in advance. Ultimately, investors react more strongly to margin trends, growth prospects, or interest rate expectations than to major sporting events.
