Stephen Curry has been central to Under Armour’s recent growth, and one analyst has pegged an astronomical estimated value of the NBA star to the apparel maker.
In a mostly-bearish note by Morgan Stanley analyst Jay Sole, he makes a case that Under Armour (UA) is currently overvalued. He’s the only tracked analyst who put an “underperform” rating on the brand, according to Bloomberg, and he tagged a target price of $64 per share on the brand, around 24% down from Wednesday’s close.
However, there is one caveat to his valuation: Curry, the reigning Most Valuable Player of the NBA, is setting the basketball world alight with his incredible scoring exploits this season. Sole estimates that Curry alone adds $14 billion to Under Armour’s market-cap value, and could even rival Michael Jordan’s worth to Nike (NKE), according to Business Insider.
“UA’s US basketball shoe sales have increased over 350% YTD,” the note said. “Its Stephen Curry signature shoe business is already bigger than those of LeBron, Kobe, and every other player except Michael Jordan. If Curry is the next Jordan, our call will likely be wrong.”
In Under Armour’s most recent earnings call, company CEO Kevin Plank said that the footwear division represented 17% of its business, with $700 million in revenues and a growth of 95% over the fourth quarter of last year. The reason, he simply stated, was Curry’s popularity.
“We’re just beginning to see what partnering with the right athlete, like Stephen Curry, can do for our business,” he said. “It is difficult to underestimate the power of having the best sell-through of any signature basketball shoe this past season.”
