Five Below was downgraded by Credit Suisse on Friday as shares of the value retailer have skyrocketed more than 125 percent over the last 12 months.
Credit Suisse analyst Judah Frommer lowered the rating to neutral from outperform, while still maintaining a 12-month price target on Five Below shares of $110. The stock hit a fresh 52-week high on Thursday at $107.93. The retailer has a market value of roughly $6 billion.
Frommer said Five Below has had a “remarkable run year-to-date,” but Credit Suisse wants to move to the “sidelines” on the stock for now.
Five Below “remains one of the most differentiated concepts in retail … and operates the quickest new store return model we have seen,” Frommer wrote in a note to clients. “That said, we see risk/reward as balanced at these levels given the stock’s material outperformance.” He also said he didn’t think the price would go much higher for the rest of the year.
Five Below plans to open a flagship store in Manhattan on Fifth Avenue later this year, CNBC reported last week. The company, which targets tweens and teens with items priced under $5, is hoping to take a larger share of the toy market in the wake of Toys R Us’ demise. Industry analysts think its strategy will succeed, but trepidation has bubbled up now that the retailer’s stock has climbed so high.
Frommer said risks to Five Below’s business model today include more competition online (i.e. Amazon encroaching on the dollar space) and international trade headwinds. The company sources roughly a third of its goods from overseas.
Five Below had a blowout first-quarter earnings report in June and is set to report second-quarter earnings late next month. Analysts will be looking for continued, strong same-store sales growth.
Five Below shares were falling about 2.5 percent in early trading Friday after Credit Suisse published its note.
