Wells Fargo analyst Tom Nikic downgraded Adidas (ADDYY) to Market Perform as he believes the tides have shifted in the athletic sector, which will slow the company's top- and bottom-line growth and limit upside potential to the shares. The analyst has become more cautious on the stock as Adidas is facing a two-pronged attack from their competitors globally, with Nike (NKE) gaining steam on the higher end of the sneaker market and Vans currently the "hot brand" in the $60-$100 price range. While Adidas has introduced new platforms to try to offset the maturing styles, results for silhouettes such as Prophere, Deerupt, Arkyn and Continental have been mixed, he contends, adding that the company's surprisingly-rapid deceleration in Western Europe presents risk to the North American market share thesis, as Europe has been a leading indicator for the brand over the years. Nikic sees near-term risk to estimates, as he thinks Q2 consensus EPS does not adequately account for the marketing investment around the World Cup, plus there's the fact that a Nike-sponsored team won the World Cup and the company will be lapping pre-World Cup sell-in beginning in Q4.

Wedbush raised the firm's price target on Adidas to EUR 200 from EUR 193 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. Momentum appears to be building up at Adidas, following a strong Q1 preannouncement and guidance raise on both the top and bottom lines, the firm says. Wedbush believes that brand heat is accelerating, and they should benefit as channel inventory improves. That said, a lot of the good news is already factored into the stock, the firm adds.

Bernstein analyst Aneesha Sherman raised the firm's price target on Adidas to $104.20 from $100.97 and keeps a Market Perform rating on the shares. The firm notes Adidas pre-announced a strong Q1 and raised FY guide, mostly from passing on the Q1 beat. While Bernstein's numbers were already ahead of the raised full year guide, it takes them up slightly further, as the firm believes the Q2-4 guide remains conservative given the strong Q1 performance.