Urban Outfitters Stock Hits New Lows After Earnings

The company reported weakening sales growth for its first-quarter

The shares of Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN) are slipping today, after the retailer reported slower growth for its first quarter. Specifically, the firm posted per-share earnings that beat analysts' estimates, but came in 7 cents lower than last year's results, as well as weakening sales and shrinking gross margins -- mostly due to underwhelming women's apparel performance in its Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters brands. The stock is fresh off a new 18-month low of $25.06 as a result -- last seen down 6.9% at $25.15.

The clothing company's results have analysts paying attention. At least 11 brokerages cut their URBN price targets, including Wells Fargo, Jefferies, and J.P. Morgan Securities, which slashed its target price all the way down to $25 -- the lowest estimate of the bunch.There's still room for more bear notes, with five analysts giving the equity a "buy" or better rating, and the consensus 12-month target price of $32.88 representing a roughly 31% premium to current levels.

URBN stock has seen a steep descent since spiking at an all-time high of $52.50 last August. The security attempted to rebound off the $28 area earlier this year, but a swift rejection at its 120-day moving average sent the shares even lower. The stock has lost 38% year-over-year.

It's recent negative price action may have been impacted by a steady stream of short selling. In the past two reporting periods, URBN short interest shot up 36.9%. The 10.87 million shares sold short would take a little less than four days to cover, at the stock's average pace of trading, and represents a whopping 14.2% of URBN's available float.