Nicholas Investment Partners LP Decreases Stock Holdings in Amer Sports, Inc. $AS

Nicholas Investment Partners LP lowered its stake in Amer Sports, Inc. (NYSE:AS) by 46.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,898 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,901 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Amer Sports were worth $818,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AS. Aspex Management HK Ltd grew its position in shares of Amer Sports by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. Aspex Management HK Ltd now owns 7,593,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,658,536 shares during the period. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its stake in Amer Sports by 63.5% in the 3rd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 6,343,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,436,000 after buying an additional 2,462,832 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Amer Sports by 57.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,991,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,707,000 after buying an additional 1,457,951 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Amer Sports by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,707,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,464,000 after buying an additional 510,419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candlestick Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Amer Sports by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. Candlestick Capital Management LP now owns 3,568,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,001,000 after buying an additional 702,091 shares during the last quarter. 40.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on AS. Weiss Ratings raised Amer Sports from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Amer Sports from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Amer Sports in a research report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Amer Sports from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $52.00 target price on shares of Amer Sports in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Amer Sports presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.19.

Amer Sports Price Performance

AS stock opened at $35.43 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.62 billion, a PE ratio of 44.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.05. Amer Sports, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.92 and a 1 year high of $42.76.

Amer Sports (NYSE:AS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 19th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Amer Sports had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 6.50%.The firm’s revenue was up 32.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. Amer Sports has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.180-1.230 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Amer Sports, Inc. will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jie (James) Zheng sold 500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.42, for a total transaction of $17,210,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,262,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,451,291.70. This trade represents a 28.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Wen-Chang (Victor) Chen sold 13,075 shares of Amer Sports stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.62, for a total transaction of $465,731.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 149,821 shares in the company, valued at $5,336,624.02. This trade represents a 8.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 860,705 shares of company stock worth $30,156,939 in the last quarter.

About Amer Sports

Amer Sports (NYSE:AS) is a Helsinki-based sporting goods group that designs, develops and markets performance-oriented equipment, apparel and footwear across multiple sports. The company focuses on product innovation, brand-driven marketing and global distribution to serve athletes and outdoor enthusiasts, offering goods for activities such as skiing, running, hiking, tennis, golf and diving.

Amer Sports’ portfolio comprises well-known sports and outdoor brands, including Salomon (outdoor footwear and winter sports), Atomic (alpine skis and ski equipment), Arc’teryx (technical outerwear and climbing gear), Wilson (racquet and ball sports equipment) and Suunto (precision instruments and sports watches).