VF Corp. stock gets Piper Sandler upgrade as Vans gains traction with teens

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VF Corp. gets upgrade on Vans

Highlights

Piper Sandler upgraded VF Corp. to overweight from neutral and raised its price target to $20 from $16, implying 27% upside.
Piper Sandler's Fall Teen Survey of 9,000 teenagers shows Vans holding seventh among teen males and rising to ninth among upper-income teen males.
Vans foot traffic hit its strongest level since February 2023, but VF Corp. shares remain down nearly 11% in 2026 despite the upgrade.

Survey results and rating change

As reported by CNBC, citing Piper Sandler, the investment firm upgraded VF Corp. to overweight from neutral and raised its price target to $20 from $16, implying about 27% upside from the stock's Monday close.

In a note to clients on Tuesday, analyst Anna Andreeva says the central debate around the stock still focuses on a turnaround at Vans. She says the firm's Fall Teen Survey shows Vans holding steady as a favorite footwear brand among all male teens and moving higher among upper-income male teens, a sign that brand mindshare may have bottomed and could return to growth as new products scale across wholesale channels.

Piper Sandler's latest teen survey, released this week, draws on responses from roughly 9,000 teenagers. The survey shows Vans as the seventh most popular footwear brand among teen males, with the brand maintaining its position for the first time in two years, while among upper-income young men it rises one spot from a year earlier to ninth place.

Market view and operating signals

Beyond teen preference data, Piper Sandler says foot traffic at Vans stores is at its strongest level since February 2023, suggesting the brand is also gaining broader consumer traction.

The bullish call contrasts with the wider view on Wall Street. LSEG data shows 13 of the 25 analysts covering VF Corp. rate the stock hold, while 10 rate it buy or strong buy and two rate it underperform.

Even with the upgrade, VF Corp. shares are down nearly 11% in 2026, leaving investors focused on whether stronger demand at Vans can translate into a more durable recovery for the company.

In our earlier article on Tuesday’s broad round of Wall Street analyst rating changes, we highlighted a mix of initiations, upgrades and downgrades across major sectors. That roundup also noted Piper Sandler’s upgrade of VF Corp. to overweight, framing it as one of several calls tied to company-specific catalysts and turnaround potential.

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