Sothebys (BID): Today's Featured Specialty Retail Loser

Sothebys (BID) pushed the Specialty Retail industry lower today making it today's featured Specialty Retail loser. The industry as a whole closed the day down 1.8%. By the end of trading, Sothebys fell $1.81 (-5.6%) to $30.48 on light volume. Throughout the day, 693,700 shares of Sothebys exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 1.2 million shares. The stock ranged in price between $30.42-$31.72 after having opened the day at $31.54 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $32.29. Other company's within the Specialty Retail industry that declined today were: Mecox Lane (MCOX), down 13.1%, Sonic Automotive (SAH), down 13%, Birks & Mayors (BMJ), down 8%, and Office Depot (ODP), down 7.6%.

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Sotheby's, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an auctioneer of authenticated fine and decorative art, jewelry, and collectibles in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, France, and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Auction, Finance, and Dealer. Sothebys has a market cap of $2.1 billion and is part of the services sector. The company has a P/E ratio of 13.6, below the average specialty retail industry P/E ratio of 13.8 and below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are up 13.1% year to date as of the close of trading on Friday. Currently there are four analysts that rate Sothebys a buy, no analysts rate it a sell, and one rates it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Sothebys as a hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and expanding profit margins. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself, deteriorating net income and disappointing return on equity.

• You can view the full Sothebys Ratings Report.

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For investors not wanting singular stock exposure, ETFs may be of interest. Investors who are bullish on the specialty retail industry could consider SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) while those bearish on the specialty retail industry could consider ProShares Ultra Sht Consumer Goods (SZK).

• Find other investment ideas from our top rated ETFs lists.

For more information on Sothebys click any of the following:

• Sothebys Stock Price

• Sothebys Analyst Ratings

• Sothebys Key Stats & Profile

• Sothebys Earnings

• Sothebys Ratio Comparison

• Sothebys Growth Rates

• Sothebys Balance Sheet

• Sothebys Cash Flow

• Sothebys Income Statement