By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com — Analysts at Monness Crespi and B.Riley said the current weakness in Crocs Inc (NASDAQ:CROX) shares, as a result of the acquisition of shoe brand HEYDUDE, are a buying opportunity.
Crocs announced last week that it will acquire privately owned Heydude for $2.5 billion. The company's shares tumbled over 11%, resulting in CEO Andrew Rees coming out to defend the acquisition.
Monness Crespi analyst Jim Chartier also defended the deal, saying he would be a buyer of the current weakness in Crocs shares due to its confidence in the 17% 5-year sales CAGR forecast and the fact that the acquisition looks like a "very good fit." Chartier reiterated a Buy rating and $180 price target on the shares.
In a further boost to shareholders of the stock, B.Riley analyst Susan Anderson said the acquisition is likely to add $1 in EPS in 2022 and the selloff is an opportunity to buy Crocs shares.
Elsewhere, Williams Trading analyst Sam Poser raised his price target on CROX to $300 from $220 while maintaining a buy rating. Stifel's Jim Duffy reiterated a Hold rating and a $157 price target on Crocs, stating the deal adds “an additional a fast-growing casual footwear franchise."
“Crocs management has proven adept at scaling a digitally-centric youthful casual footwear brand, and we see strategic and platform synergies to growth and margin," explained Duffy.
At the time of writing, Crocs shares are up 3.3%, though still below pre-deal levels.