It's Not Yet Time to Fall Into the Gap

I so want to go against the grain and call Gap (GPS Quote) a good contrarian play.

The retailer is hated on both Wall Street and Main Street. About the most positive thing analysts seem to be able to say about the company these days is that the merchandise in its Banana Republic chain is not hideous.

Nevertheless, overwhelming negative sentiment alone is not enough to zig when others zag and go long in the face of such pessimism. There needs to be a catalyst, something that can make investors believe that things are turning around, even if the rest of Wall Street doesn't acknowledge it yet. ...