ASOS have dropped quite significantly in the past week for no particular reason and I view this as the perfect opportunity to invest as I can see them bouncing right back up to the 5.50p mark in the next 2-3 weeks. STRONG BUY!!

only if you take profit tomasz.,.

..Sales bounce back at fashion retailer ASOS

Reuters – 10 minutes ago


......
By James Davey and Paul Sandle

LONDON (Reuters) - British online fashion retailer ASOS (ASOS.L) bucked the UK retail gloom with sales in the last three months of 2011 bouncing back from a disappointing performance in the previous quarter, it said on Thursday.

"(It) was a bit of a wake-up call, we'd taken our eye off the ball a bit," Chief Executive Nick Robertson told Reuters.

"So it was kind of like 'OK guys we can do better than that', and we did," he said.

UK retailers generally struggled at Christmas as rising prices, muted wages growth and government austerity measures forced shoppers to rein in spending on more discretionary items.

Those with strong internet businesses fared better, however, as time-pressed consumers took advantage of the convenience, and price transparency, of shopping online.

Robertson noted that on Christmas Day 19 percent of ASOS's traffic was via a mobile device.

"I would be amazed if somewhere between 20 and 30 percent of our revenue wasn't (eventually) derived on a global scale off a mobile device," he said.

Shares in the firm, which targets 16 to 34-year-old women looking to emulate the designer looks of celebrities such as Kate Moss, Alexa Chung and Tulisa Contostavlos but at a fraction of the price, jumped over 18 percent after it said UK retail sales grew 10 percent in the three months to December 31, its fiscal third quarter.

That compared with a consensus market forecast of 5 pct and second-quarter growth of 1 percent.

International sales rose 93 percent, just under-shooting analysts' consensus forecast of 100 percent and growth of 141 percent in the previous quarter, and now account for 58 percent of the business.

International sales growth had been expected to slow compared with the previous year when they got a boost from ASOS introducing global free shipping.

Total retail sales rose 46 percent to 146.5 million pounds, while the retail gross margin increased 3 percentage points, reflecting the greater proportion of higher margin international sales.

Robertson is targeting 1 billion pounds of sales by 2015 at which point overseas sales will be over 90 percent of the total.

ASOS shares hit a 12-month high of 2,508 pence in June, fuelled by buoyant trading and bid speculation, but fell back sharply as the overall market tumbled, directors sold shares and investors fretted about the impact of rising youth unemployment on UK growth.

The stock was up 271 pence at 1,765 pence at 1348 GMT, valuing the business at 1.35 billion pounds.

"We look forward to the prelims (year results in June) when we expect an update on the group's plans to enter the Asian market, in particular China, which should lead to a re-appraisal of medium to long-term growth targets," said Collins Stewart analyst Wayne Brown.

Robertson, who owns 10 percent of ASOS's equity, declined to comment on pre-Christmas reports linking the firm with the head of Marks & Spencer's (MKS.L) clothing and homewares business Kate Bostock.

However, he confirmed ASOS is looking to bolster its top management team.

"In the current climate, where the high street is not faring as well, there's actually quite a lot of talent who would love to jump ship," he said. ($1 = 0.6490 British pounds)

yep i'm watching the live stream too - i do like the almost endless stream of computer AT trades and the real good news is that currently the trend is continuous north!! and nearly an hour left today!!

baler - yep very relevant

nice one dc :-))

Good luck and well done to all in this.

sorry about this ......

kerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrchinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggggggggggggggggg!!

:-)))

All the comments about buys and sells are a red herring - if someone sells, what else has to happen? Also, the trade may be reported late, I would totally ignore stuff like that.

No position in ASC at all - looks a bit hairy. I like nice steady predictable trends, nothing that's going to jump all over the place!

Thats why you see more clearly.,.

:-)

mock all you like, but i have put money in the bank (£2.00 per share clear in a week is just fine by me) .... and you guys???? ...... meanwhile sp finishes only (1770) a little above where i sold (1738) and as predicted it had prob at 1800, though it very briefly whizzed through that mark, only to fall back almost as quickly.

but please tell me how paper profits pay the bills, as clearly you guys know something i do not

I find that strange to mock someone who plays safe or what I would say sensible.
We all have our exit points, some early. I have learnt that. A figure on the screen means nothing, until the sell button is pressed and often disappears at a faster rate.

thanks DC, but as i dish out grief regularly, i have no objection in its return - though i may still bite that ankle

Get up on your knees man and do more damage......lol still should have bought at 12.,.

glad i didnt mock anyone then!! but baler 3740 is right though lol!! :-)))))

claiming at 1200 stupidity to invest in asos , I dont get it why he didnt put money to his mouth and shorted from there...that would be more like cynic as I know...lol

Oriel Securities - Hold TP 1,554

Espirito Santo Execution Noble - Sell TP 1,200

'Buy'

Over at Panmure Gordon, Jean Roche raised the target price from 1,696p to 1,865p and reiterated her 'buy' recommendation.

"As we forecast, momentum in UK sales has picked up, which is very important for sentiment. A shortfall in international sales relates to the EU region, which makes sense in macro terms. Importantly, however, the French and German markets remained strong even though free shipping has now annualised," she commented.

Wayne Brown at Collins Stewart was also a buyer.

"Against a challenging global economic backdrop, we are encouraged that ASOS has been able to maintain its high level of top-line sales growth. The business has a much more flexible model now that its Barnsley distribution centre is fully operational," he said.

He noted that the shares are not cheap on conventional metrics (trading at 33.5 times earnings for the year ending March 2012), but added "that is more than underpinned by high earnings per share growth rate."

"We look forward to the prelims when we expect an update on the groups plans to enter the Asian market, in particular China, which should lead to a re-appraisal of medium to long term growth targets," Brown added.

'Hold'

Investec Securities has reiterated its 'hold' recommendation, but put its 1,250p target under review.

'Sell'

Freddie George at Seymour Pierce was far more bearish, keeping his 'sell' stance and target price of 1,300p on the stock. He noted that the update appeared a little light of market expectations and the mix of sales was slightly different from what was expected.

"We are a great believer in the management of ASOS, the model, and the potential for the company to grow sales overseas. However, we are concerned about valuations, which don't allow for any slip-ups."
HSBC Downgrades ASOS To Neutral From Overweight

0725 GMT [Dow Jones] HSBC downgrades ASOS (ASC.LN) to neutral from overweight and lifts the price target to 1900p from 1890p on valuation grounds. The stock looks fairly priced for now, says HSBC. The company's 3Q trading statement Thursday beat revenue estimates and restored confidence in the domestic market, the bank says. It says the shares are now up with events following the stock's 18% rise Thursday. They closed at 1760.0p.

hsbc put neutral from overweight today, probably because mulberry closed the gap with 41% growth.... good , I want them consolidate as low as possible to increase stake.

to catch the falling knife? ...... not too bright

RNS Number : 9118V
ASOS PLC
20 January 2012

TR-1: NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTEREST IN SHARES

1. Identity of the issuer or the underlying issuer of existing shares to which voting rights are attached:

ASOS plc

2 Reason for the notification (please tick the appropriate box or boxes):

An acquisition or disposal of voting rights
X
An acquisition or disposal of qualifying financial instruments which may result in the acquisition of shares already issued to which voting rights are attached

An acquisition or disposal of instruments with similar economic effect to qualifying financial instruments

An event changing the breakdown of voting rights

Other (please specify):

3. Full name of person(s) subject to the notification obligation:
Aktieselskabet af 5.5.2010

4. Full name of shareholder(s) (if different from 3.):
N/A
5. Date of the transaction and date on which the threshold is crossed or reached:

19th January 2012

6. Date on which issuer notified:

19th January 2012

7. Threshold(s) that is/are crossed or reached: 22%
8. Notified details:

A: Voting rights attached to shares
Class/type of
shares


if possible using
the ISIN CODE
Situation previous
to the triggering
transaction
Resulting situation after the triggering transaction

Number
of
Shares
Number
of
Voting
Rights
Number
of shares
Number of voting
rights
% of voting rights

Direct
Direct IndirectDirect Indirect


GB0030927254

16,788,230

16,788,230

16,813,230

16,813,230

16,813,230

22.01%

22.01%


B: Qualifying Financial Instruments

Resulting situation after the triggering transaction


Type of financial
instrument
Expiration
date
Exercise/
Conversion
Period
Number of voting
rights that may be
acquired if the
instrument is
exercised/ converted.

% of voting
rights


N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A


C: Financial Instruments with similar economic effect to Qualifying Financial Instruments

Resulting situation after the triggering transaction

Type of financial
instrument
Exercise
price
Expiration
date
Exercise/
Conversion
period
Number of voting
rights instrument
refers to
% of voting rights
N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A
Nominal
Delta
N/A

N/A


Total (A+B+C)

Number of voting rights
Percentage of voting rights

16,813,230

22.01%

9. Chain of controlled undertakings through which the voting rights and/or the
financial instruments are effectively held, if applicable:

N/A

Proxy Voting:

10. Name of the proxy holder:
N/A

11. Number of voting rights proxy holder will cease to hold:

N/A

12. Date on which proxy holder will cease to hold voting rights:

N/A

13. Additional information:
None

14. Contact name:
Lise Kaae

15. Contact telephone number:

+45 99423190