Telsey downgrades Under Armour, says it will continue to struggle with excess inventory

Under Armour will continue to struggle with excess inventory, according to Telsey Advisory Group. Analyst Cristina Fernández downgraded shares of Under Armour to market perform from outperform, pointing to warnings in recent weeks from competitors adidas and Nike on high inventory. "Given the pressures being faced by the sporting goods brands and Under Armour's positioning in the marketplace—with slower sales growth and more apparel exposure—we are downgrading our rating to Market Perform from Outperform," Fernández wrote in a Friday note. Excess inventory across the sporting goods industry has hurt the financial outlooks for brands such as Adidas and Nike, as greater supply chain issues meant many apparel items for the spring, summer and fall seasons arrived late. Shares of Under Armour are down nearly 63% this year, while peers Nike and Adidas have fallen roughly 48% and 63%, respectively. "Under Armour's inventory has been leaner than most competitors and the company lowered its 2022 outlook to reflect higher promotions, but we believe the environment has worsened since the company's last report on August 3 and promotions are deeper than expected," read the note. The analyst lowered her price target to $8 from $12. The new target implies roughly 21% upside from where shares closed Thursday, at $6.62. Shares of Under Armour fell 2% in the premarket Friday. —CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.