NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Deckers Outdoor slipped in premarket trading Wednesday as an analyst cut her rating for the maker of Ugg boots, citing its stock price.
Corinna Freedman of Wedbush lowered Deckers to "Neutral" from "Outperform." In a client note, the analyst said that the company is trading within 1 percent of her $45 price target. The stock closed at $44.72 on Tuesday.
Freedman said she wanted to step to the sidelines on Deckers given uncertainty around its full-year forecast. While comfortable with her fourth-quarter estimate for earnings of $2.60 per share, the analyst said that she is finding it hard to assess market expectations for 2013's outlook in part because the company is moving toward lower-priced transitional footwear styles.
In October, Deckers said that it expected fourth-quarter earnings would fall 14 percent, implying profit of $2.73 per share. Analysts polled by FactSet predict fourth-quarter earnings of $2.57 per share.
For 2013, Freedman forecasts earnings of $3.75 per share. Wall Street expects $3.71 per share.
Deckers Outdoor Corp.'s stock fell 48 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $44.24 about 10 minutes before the stock market open.
