Ahead of the Bell: Urban Outfitters Downgraded

Lehman Brothers analyst Jeff Black lowered the company's shares to "Equal Weight" from "Overweight" in a client note, saying the company's Urban Outfitters segment is catching up with its Anthropologie chain.

On Thursday, Urban Outfitters said first-quarter profit rose 45 percent, while its same-store sales -or sales at stores open at least a year -at its Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie and Free People segments rose a combined 10 percent.

Black kept his $34 price target, implying he expects the stock to rise about 3 percent.

Stifel Nicolaus analyst Richard Jaffe downgraded Urban Outfitters to "Hold" from "Buy," saying he expects the company's earnings growth to moderate as the year plays out.

"Urban's great success, in our opinion, has been acknowledged by the street and is nearly fully recognized in the stock price," he said, maintaining his $36 target price.

Shares or Urban lost 49 cents at $32.40 in premarket trading. On Thursday, the stock closed at $32.89.