Victoria's Secret & Co. (VSCO) is gearing up for its third-quarter earnings reveal on Friday morning, December 5, and Wall Street's sharpest forecasters have been busy recalibrating their expectations.
The Reynoldsburg, Ohio-based retailer faces a consensus estimate of a 59-cent per share loss, which would be slightly worse than the 50-cent loss reported during the same period last year. On the revenue side, things look brighter—analysts are projecting $1.41 billion in quarterly sales, up from $1.35 billion a year ago.
The company delivered some good news back on August 28 when it topped expectations for both earnings and revenue in the second quarter. That momentum appears to have caught analysts' attention, judging by the flurry of price target adjustments in recent months.
Shares closed at $41.57 on Thursday, down 2.2% for the session, as investors position themselves ahead of the earnings announcement.
What the Top Analysts Are Saying
A closer look at recent analyst moves reveals an interesting pattern—most are raising price targets while maintaining cautious neutral ratings. Here's the breakdown from some of Wall Street's most accurate forecasters:
Telsey Advisory Group's Dana Telsey made the boldest move on December 2, maintaining a Market Perform rating but jumping the price target from $29 all the way to $45. Telsey has a 63% accuracy track record.
JPMorgan's Matthew Boss kept a Neutral rating on September 15 while nudging the price target from $27 to $28. Boss has proven accurate 67% of the time.
Morgan Stanley analyst Alex Straton stuck with an Equal-Weight rating on September 12 but raised the target from $20 to $27. Straton's accuracy rate stands at 64%.
UBS analyst Jay Sole maintained his Neutral stance on August 29, lifting the price target from $21 to $25. Sole has been right 68% of the time.
Wells Fargo's Ike Boruchow remains the bear in the group, holding an Underweight rating while still increasing the price target from $14 to $17 on August 29. Notably, Boruchow has the highest accuracy rate of the bunch at 71%.
The consensus seems clear: Victoria's Secret has momentum, but most analysts want to see more proof before giving it their full endorsement. Friday's earnings report will give them exactly that opportunity.
