Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UAA) is scheduled to report its third-quarter financial results before the markets open on Tuesday. The stock has faced a tough run recently, but this earnings report could be the saving grace in what has been a disastrous year.

Under Armour stock is down about 45% year to date, compared to a 15% gain in the S&P 500 and a 10% gain in its competitor Nike. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock is actually down closer to 50%.

In the starting match against Nike, Under Armour has not just blinked, but the company practically fell asleep. Although Nike is still lagging the broad markets in general, it is still somewhat keeping up, whereas Under Armour may be facing some tough choices ahead.

Under Armour was a great and growing brand and its stock kept rising for years. Ultimately, growth stories start to fizzle, and competition from Nike, Adidas, Reebok and other up-and-coming brands gets tough after the competitors get sick enough of losing market share.

Double-digit revenue growth just no longer impresses the “what have done for me lately” investor crowd. It’s also hard for Under Armour to sell itself as a value stock when it is valued at about 38 times earnings. New athlete and rapper endorsements are still not enough to drive interest. Under Armour’s shares peaked at roughly $50.

In terms of earnings for the third quarter, Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates of $0.19 in earnings per share (EPS) and $1.48 billion in revenue. The same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $0.29 and $1.47 billion in revenue.

A few analysts had this to say about Under Armour ahead of the earnings report:

• Merrill Lynch has an Underperform rating with a $12 price target.
• Deutsche Bank has a Sell rating and a $14 price target.
• Jefferies has a Buy rating and a $28 price target.
• Canaccord Genuity has a Hold rating with a $15 target.
• Piper Jaffray has a Neutral rating with a $14 price target.
• Pivotal Research has a Hold rating with a $17 price target.
• Webush has a Neutral rating and a $17 price target.
• Cowen has a Market Perform rating with an $18 price target.

Shares of Under Armour were last seen up about 1% on Monday to $16.18, with a consensus analyst price target of $18.40 and a 52-week range of $15.52 to $33.45.

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