The stock that has sneakily risen 89% this year
Shares of Skechers (SKX) have surged 89 percent in 2015, the third-best performer in the broad S&P 1500 index, as the shoe company shows massive earnings growth amid increased leverage and strong sales in a hot space.
"They're doing such a good job at such a good price point, and other people simple can't make an equivalent shoe for less money," said Sterne Agee CRT analyst Sam Poser. "Plus, they're managing their business better than they ever have."
The company's sales have risen 40 percent in a year, and earnings per share are up by twice that percentage. The run-up in earnings isn't expected to abate anytime soon, as analysts foresee Skechers earning $4.20 per share in the next four quarters (per FactSet).
Poser, who has raised his price target seven times in the past 1½ years while maintaining a "buy" rating, told CNBC he "wouldn't be surprised to see the stock keep rocking," particularly next week when Skecher's new lines will be on display at the New York Shoe Show.
Read More Skechers exec: 'Could have gone much higher'
Andrew Burkly, head of institutional portfolio strategy at Oppenheimer, is on board with the bullish case.
The stock is "a little bit extended near term, but long term, it still looks great. Earnings have been fantastic," and it's forward earnings multiple is not too much higher than that of the S&P 500 as a whole, even though "you're getting a lot more growth," he said Friday on CNBC's " Trading Nation ."
But a glance at the chart tells Piper Jaffray technical analyst Craig Johnson that the time to buy this stock has passed.
"This is a stock where you could have a 30 percent correction and still be in an uptrend," Johnson said Friday. "I would trim the position, wait for a pullback, and then come back in and look at the stock."
Johnson isn't the only Skechers disbeliever right now, despite the bull run. Thirteen percent of the stock's float is currently being held short.
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