Under Armour Inc. shares got a rating upgrade from after analysts at Raymond James. Raymond James analyst Matthew McClintock raised his rating on the sports apparel and footwear retailer to "strong buy" from "outperform", citing the company’s risk/return profile.Under Armour said its "practices and disclosures were appropriate" and that it has been co-operating with the agencies on the investigations. For the full-year 2019, Under Armour is expecting earnings at the higher end of its prior forecast range of between 33 cents and 34 cents per share. The company now projects revenues to experience + 2% growth in the year partly due to lower-than-expected excess inventory; the forecast is lower than its prior guidance of +3% to +4% growth.  

However, the company did express concerns about the impact of protests in Hong Kong. The outdoor apparel maker reported adjusted earnings of  57 Canadian cents a share for the quarter, ahead of analysts' expectations of 43 cents. Revenue increased +28% from a year ago to  C$294.0 million ($221.6 million), surpassing the Street estimate of C$266.8 million. Wholesale revenue expanded +22% to C$219.8 million, exceeding analysts' forecast of C$193.5 million.Direct-to-consumer revenue surged +47% to C$74.2 million, on the back of incremental revenue from new retail stores, and beat expectations of C$73.7 million, Canada Goose recently opened a second store in Hong Kong.

Levi Strauss shares traded higher after-hours Tuesday, following the jean company’s earnings beat.  For the quarter ended Aug. 25, Levi’s adjusted earnings came in at 31 cents per share, surpassing the 28 cents a share that analysts expected (based on FactSet poll of analysts).The earnings were, however, lower than the year-ago quarter’s 34 cents. Revenue in the quarter increased +3.8% year-over-year to $1.45 billion, compared to analysts’ estimate of $1.44 billion. Growth in international sales offset softness in Americas sales.

Levi Strauss’ shares tumbled pre-market Wednesday, following the company's  warning of a weakening growth of sales in the second half of the year. The maker of the iconic denim brand reported fiscal second quarter earnings of 7 cents a share, down -65% from the same period last year.Adjusting for some costs, the company earned 17 cents per share, beating the Street consensus estimate of 15 cents per share.  Revenue of $1.312 billion for the quarter also surpassed analysts’ forecasts. However, Levis CFO Harmit Singh mentioned that the second half sales growth would “moderate relative to the first half, particularly in the United States" .The company expects that the lack of a Black Friday in Q4 will hurt revenue by roughly 100 basis points in the second half. As for the ongoing trade war, CFO Singh has indicated that the company is prepared to cushion the effect of tariffs over the near term.

Canada Goose Holdings’ fiscal fourth quarter revenue fell short of analysts’ expectations, leading to the company’s shares falling -22% Wednesday. While the outdoor clothing maker’s revenue surged +25% year-over-year to C$156.2 million in the quarter, it still missed analysts' estimates of C$156.8 million. However, adjusted earnings of  9 Canadian cents a share surpassed analysts' estimates of 6 Canadian cents. For the full year, total revenue climbed +40.5% to C$830.5 million.According to Canada Goose, higher operating income and a lower effective tax rate contributed to the net income growth. Looking ahead into fiscal 2020, Canada Goose Holdings expects annual revenue growth of at least +20%.    

The report sent the the clothing brand's shares down -5% Tuesday. The company reported earnings  of $1.07 per share for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of 89 cents per share (based on FactSet poll).Even as sales from Europe and Asia increased +4% and +6% respectively, North American revenue plunged -7%. Ralph Lauren hiked its quarterly dividend by +10% to 69 cents per share.

Athletic apparel and footwear company Under Armour Inc UAA 0.81% is nearing the end of a three-year-long transformation, and the company is now ready to take the next steps, CEO Kevin Plank told CNBC's Jim Cramer Wednesday. Read More...

Beyond Meat, the California-based manufacturer of plant-based meat substitutes, expects its initial public offering to range between $19-$21 per share, triggering an estimate raise of $183.8 million through the IPO.This will give the company a market value of $1.21 billion. Proceeds from the IPO, for which it had filed the paperwork at the end of March, will go into investing in current and additional manufacturing facilities, research and development, sales and marketing, working capital and other general corporate purposes. The number of Americans choosing vegan or vegetarian diets has stagnated over the last decade, but more people are now opting ‘flexitarian’ diets, accounting for nearly 40% of the population embracing more plant-based foods as substitutes for real meat.

Levi Strauss shares climbed +2.1% Monday, following JPMorgan’s  overweight rating on the company. JPMorgan just started coverage of the iconic denim company, which went public in March.JPMorgan analyst Matthew Boss cited the “strong tenured management team led by CEO (Chip) Bergh” coupled with the brand’s heritage as solid factors expected to boost Levi’s global market. JPMorgan analysts set a $26 year-end price target for Levi shares. Last week, Levi Strauss reported its  quarterly earnings of 37 cents a share on revenue of $1.44 billion – compared to the year-ago period’s loss of -5 cents a share on revenue $1.34 billion.

Chuck E. Cheese’s parent company is having another go at the NYSE, through a merger with a special purpose company, making it the first restaurant company to enter the public market in four years. With the closing of the merger with Leo Holdings, Queso Holdings - which owns CEC Entertainment, the parent company of Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza, is likely to see itself trading again this summer at NYSE with the ticker CEC. Special purpose companies are asset-less and could only use the proceeds of an IPO to buy and take privately held consumer companies public. The deal is expected to close in Q2 of 2019 and at the end of which Leo Holdings is planning to rename itself as Chuck E. Cheese Brands, while CEC Entertainment is likely to emerge as a subsidiary of Chuck E. Cheese Brands. The IPO’s proceeds is likely to go towards paying down CEC’s outstanding debt of $978.9 million as of 30 December 2018. CEC is expected to have an enterprise value $1.4 billion.In fiscal 2018, the

Under Armour Inc UAA 0.89% announced Monday that it hired Kasey Jarvis as its new chief design officer, replacing longtime designer Dave Dombrow, who focused on mainly footwear development. Read More...

According to the bankruptcy court document, children’s apparel retailer Gymboree has sold itself to its rival Children’s Place.These are yet to be approved by a bankruptcy court. This is Gymboree’s second bankruptcy announcement in less than two years. Gymboree had filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2019, and said it would close 800 Gymboree and Crazy 8 stores.

Apparel and footwear manufacturer Under Armour (NYSE: UA) has jumped sharply over the past month, gaining over 20% since hitting its recent low on December 24.While the rally was welcomed by investors after the stock dropped almost 33% from December 6 through that low. The rally could run in to some problems in the coming days as the stock has caught up to its 50-day moving average.

Handbag maker Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. might buy Gianni Versace SpA . A Bloomberg report said that Michael Kors might announce a deal to purchase Italian luxury fashion company Versace, valuing the latter at about $2 billion - according to people familiar with the matter who did not want to be named.Versace reportedly wants to put itself up for sale, and companies that have shown interest in recent months include Kors, Tiffany & Co., LVMH, PVH Corp. and Tapestry, according to a report on Sunday by Women’s Wear Daily. No official statement has been given out by either Michael Kors or Versace regarding the acquisition deal, and even people familiar with the matter said that no final agreement has been reached yet.  

Adidas is aiming for 2024 to use strictly recycled plastics for all of their products and applications.With such a major goal and dedication to recycled plastic, there is a chance that many other companies will come out and set high expectations for themselves also.