UNDER THE GUN

Armour walking the Plank on slowing sales

Under Armour’s boss hacked off the likes of Stephen Curry and Misty Copeland — and now his troubles on Wall Street are getting worse.

Founder and Chief Executive Kevin Plank praised President Trump in a Feb. 7 CNBC interview, calling him a “real asset for the country.” That controversial sentiment sparked an immediate backlash from several of the athletic-wear company’s high-wattage endorsers, Curry and Copeland among them.

This month, meanwhile, 12 Wall Street analysts have either cut their rating or slashed their price target on the company’s stock, according to Bloomberg.

The latest downgrade came Monday from Nomura/Instinet analyst Simeon Siegel, who says Under Armour has hit a speed bump that could slow its 20-year growth spurt.

“Under Armour appears to have matured past its highgrowth phase,” Siegel wrote in a research note, cutting his rating on the Baltimore-based company’s stock to “reduce” — the equivalent of a sell recommendation.

Under Armour shares, which are off 25 percent since the beginning of the year, tumbled 2.8 percent Monday, to close at $19.28, not far off a 52-week low of $17.77.

Among Siegel’s concerns were weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter results, high C-suite turnover and Plank’s Trump remark.

“It’s probably not a good thing when stars speak out against management,” Siegel wrote.

Plank dropped the bomb when he said in the CNBC interview, “To have such a pro-

business president is something that is a real asset for the country. People can really grab that opportunity,” concluding “there’s a lot that I respect there.”

The outcry was swift. The next day, Under Armour landed on the Grab Your Wallet list of companies that are being boycotted for their association with Trump businesses.

Other stars, including San Francisco 49ers wide re-

ceiver Torrey Smith and wrestler-turned-Hollywood-draw Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson spoke out against Plank’s comment.

On Feb. 15, the company took out a full-page ad in the Baltimore Sun to clarify the company’s position on immigration and equal rights and to clarify that Plank was referring to the president’s goal to create jobs here in the US.

The self-inflicted wound, however, comes at a time when the wind in Under Armour’s sails has died down.

Demand for Curry 3 basketball sneakers, introduced on Oct. 25, was disappointing, say industry experts.

“There was a significant decline in year-over-year sales,” said NPD Group sports analyst Matt Powell.

Curry 3 sneakers had been the strongest performer in the company’s footwear segment, of which basketball shoes account for just under 40 percent of sales.

In its guidance on Jan. 31, Under Armour said it expects growth to be in the mid-single digits for the first quarter compared with 12 percent growth in the fourth quarter.

That, Siegel pointed out, would mark Under Armour’s smallest quarterly growth in seven years.