Principal Financial Group Inc. Makes New $4.30 Million Investment in Amer Sports, Inc. $AS

Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Amer Sports, Inc. (NYSE:AS) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 130,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,305,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AS. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amer Sports during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Amer Sports by 1,030.6% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 814 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 742 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Amer Sports by 484.8% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Amer Sports by 241.6% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Amer Sports by 174.3% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the last quarter. 40.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AS. UBS Group upped their target price on Amer Sports from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Amer Sports in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Amer Sports from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $52.00 target price on shares of Amer Sports in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $51.00 target price on shares of Amer Sports in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $48.70.

Amer Sports Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:AS opened at $35.98 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $19.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.07. Amer Sports, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.92 and a 52-week high of $42.76. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.61.

Amer Sports (NYSE:AS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 19th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.07. Amer Sports had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 6.50%.The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 32.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Amer Sports has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.180-1.230 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Amer Sports, Inc. will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Amer Sports news, CEO Jie (James) Zheng sold 500,000 shares of Amer Sports stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.42, for a total value of $17,210,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,262,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,451,291.70. The trade was a 28.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew E. Page sold 105,230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.75, for a total value of $3,867,202.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $150,050.25. This trade represents a 96.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 833,580 shares of company stock valued at $29,200,266.

About Amer Sports

Amer Sports (NYSE:AS) is a Helsinki-based sporting goods group that designs, develops and markets performance-oriented equipment, apparel and footwear across multiple sports. The company focuses on product innovation, brand-driven marketing and global distribution to serve athletes and outdoor enthusiasts, offering goods for activities such as skiing, running, hiking, tennis, golf and diving.

Amer Sports’ portfolio comprises well-known sports and outdoor brands, including Salomon (outdoor footwear and winter sports), Atomic (alpine skis and ski equipment), Arc’teryx (technical outerwear and climbing gear), Wilson (racquet and ball sports equipment) and Suunto (precision instruments and sports watches).