Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for GAP (NYSE:GAP) Stock

GAP (NYSE:GAP) had its price target boosted by Morgan Stanley from $28.00 to $30.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 31.69% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of GAP from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on GAP from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on GAP from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $22.00 target price on GAP in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of GAP from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, GAP presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.94.

GAP Stock Performance

GAP stock opened at $22.78 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.28. GAP has a 12-month low of $16.99 and a 12-month high of $29.29. The firm has a market cap of $8.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 2.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 28th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. GAP had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 27.04%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. GAP has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that GAP will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other GAP news, Director Robert J. Fisher sold 500,000 shares of GAP stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.90, for a total value of $11,450,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,829,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,795,595.80. The trade was a 15.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William Sydney Fisher sold 200,000 shares of GAP stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.86, for a total value of $4,772,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,253,453 shares in the company, valued at $77,627,388.58. The trade was a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 943,064 shares of company stock valued at $22,011,784 over the last 90 days. 30.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GAP

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GAP. Dodge & Cox acquired a new position in GAP in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $592,222,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new position in GAP in the first quarter valued at about $63,674,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of GAP during the 1st quarter valued at about $56,763,000. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of GAP by 101.0% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,184,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,453,000 after buying an additional 1,600,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new stake in shares of GAP in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $7,207,000. 58.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About GAP

Gap, Inc operates as a global apparel retail company, which offers clothing, apparel, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and children. The firm operates through the following segments: Gap Global, Old Navy Global, Banana Republic Global, Athleta, and Other. The Gap Global segment includes apparel and accessories for men and women under the Gap brand, along with the GapKids, BabyGap, GapMaternity, GapBody, and GapFit collections.