Analyst Bets on More Losses for Vans Parent Amid Weak Demand

Vans parent VF Corp (NYSE:VFC) is down 7.5% to trade at $19.63 at last glance, after suffering a downgrade at J.P. Morgan Securities to "underweight" from "neutral," as well as a price-target cut to $18 from $19. The firm noted weak store traffic and wholesale demand, and that necessary investments in marketing could limit its near-term growth after a decline in Q3 sales.

VFC has suffered a severe 80% pullback since tapping a record high just above $100 in December 2019. The shares struggled to break above $16 for most of 2025, but recently have consolidated around the $20 mark. Over the last nine months, VF Corp stock has managed to add 63%, however, with support moving in at the 50- and 80-day moving averages.

Despite its long-term underperformance, options traders have been bullish of late. This is per VFC's International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) 10-day call/put volume ratio of 1.37, which sits higher than 95% of readings from the last year.

Its worth noting that shorts look to be building. Short interest grew 4.6% during the most recent reporting period and now accounts for 5.9% of the stock's total available float.