COTY Stock Higher on C-Suite Shake-Up

The beauty stock gapped lower last week after earnings

Beauty supply concern Coty Inc (NYSE:COTY) is up 1.8% at $8.65 in early trading, after the company announced the immediate resignation of CEO Camillo Pane, citing family reasons. A number of other corporate-level changes were also revealed, including a new chairman of the board, and the addition of two new and independent board members.

Today's lift is much needed for COTY, as just last week, the stock suffered a massive post-earnings bear gap following the company's Nov. 7 fiscal first-quarter revenue miss. The plunge sent the shares to a record low of $8.29 on Nov. 8, and they are now down 57% year-to-date.

Overall, analyst sentiment has been pessimistic toward the CoverGirl parent. Specifically, 12 of the 16 firms covering COTY sport "hold" or "sell" recommendations. Plus, the stock was hit with price-target cuts this morning from D.A. Davidson (to $8.520) and Berenberg (to $10.50). Still, the average 12-month price target of $10.77 represents a 24.5% upside to the current levels.

Lastly, short interest on COTY fell 21.2% during the past two reporting periods to 65.76 million shares, and now represents nearly 15% of the stock's total available float. At the security's average pace of daily trading, it would take shorts nearly nine days to cover their bearish bets.