BofA cuts Crocs target but defends shares on selloff

BofA lowered the firm’s price target on Crocs (CROX) to $147 from $179 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after the company’s Q4 outlook missed estimates. The stock in midday trading is down 18% to $112.66. The firm reduced near-term expectations but thinks the core Crocs brand is still healthy and its free cash flow “remains best-in-class.” BofA says it is defending the shares on the selloff as the “guidance likely proves conservative. Management lowered expectations by communicating Q1 will likely be soft and messaging that operating margins will be lower in 2025, the analyst tells investors in a research note. BofA thinks the bar has been reset and that Crocs “can return to its prior beat/raise trajectory.”