Understanding teenagers has long been a challenge, and to paraphrase Dave Barry, that goes back to when you were a teenager. But making things a little easier for markets that serve the teenage crowd, Piper Sandler offered up a study that examined teenage retail trends, and the news proved quite interesting. Interesting enough, in fact, to send several teenage-facing retail stocks upward.
First, Nike (NYSE:NKE) held its top rank among teens in not just footwear but also in apparel. That was a bit of an upset, as it required Nike to pull points from Lululemon (NASDAQ:LULU) and Under Armour (NYSE:UAA) in order to get ahead. It wasn’t just clothing that the study covered, though. Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) also found a slot in the study as the energy drink of choice among teens, and while Chik-Fil-A proved the leader of restaurants, teens increasingly turned up their noses at Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) and its plant-based meat substitute.
All of this news comes at a good time as retailers frantically prepare for a 2023 holiday shopping season that is expected to be lukewarm overall. Retailers are out to fight this sluggishness by turning to buy now pay later (BNPL) options and discounting as hard as possible, which is likely to weigh on totals but at least get shoppers in the door.
Is Investing in Retail Good?
This study covered a lot of retail, from food to fashion, but some winners and losers were clear. Beyond Meat’s average price target of $8.07 per share means a 4.72% downside risk. Meanwhile, the only loser on the list, Under Armour, offers a 44.12% upside return on its average price target of $9.62 per share, making it the upside winner despite its losses.
