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Insiders Active in Sporting Goods Retailer Benefitting from Major Pandemic Tailwinds

by | Jan 16, 2022

Academy Sports (ASO) with a pair of insider buys last week on 1/10 and 1/14 including a more than $750K investment from the CEO. Another director bought $400K in stock and both trades executed between $39 and $39.50. These are the only two open market buys in the name in the last five years. ASO has traded well since its debut in late 2020 with shares up around 200%. ASO has been forming a wider bull flag consolidation after hitting 52-week highs in November near $50 and now back at key volume support around $37. The $3.75B company trades 6.2X earnings, 0.57X sales, and 6.33X FCF. The company has also seen strong margin growth as inventories remain positioned well and clearance has been cut notably. ASO is a sporting goods and outdoor recreational products retailer with a heavy focus on outdoor goods like camping accessories, fishing equipment, and hunting paraphernalia. ASO is facing tough comps in the 1H of 2022 but should continue to see strength in some of the bigger categories like camping where COVID has likely created new adoption. They also continue to see stronger allocations from big brands like Nike, Yeti, and North Face while they pull back from other channels. Analysts have an average target for shares of $54 with a Street High $60. Goldman upgraded shares to Buy on 12/14 as the firm believes consumers have adopted new interests within outdoor, fitness, and sports categories and that this trend will be sticky into 2022. Further, population migration trends seem to favor Academy Sports’ current footprint and its established relationship with Nike is a competitive advantage over less-differentiated competitors. Short interest is 12%. Hedge fund ownership fell 20% last quarter. Samlyn Capital a notable buyer of 2.6M shares and now with 5.5M total.

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