Harley Stock down 36%... what's going on?

Question

Harley is obviously the best company on the planet, making the best bikes the world has ever seen. How is it that the stock has dropped 36% from its 52 week high? I mean seriously, that's a significant hit. Did something happen that I don't know about? Are the quality of the new bikes so bad that people are avoiding them? I mean, everyone on the planet wants a Harley, why are they doing so bad? Will they ever recover?

Answer 1

Your perceptions are wrong. Not everyone wants an overpriced bike that gets passed by anything from japan. Harleys are overrated, people dont care much for them and their expensive accessories. The stock price is reflecting that.

Answer 2

I have owned Harley stock for 10 yrs. or more. This happens; it is cyclical. The whole market is down now. And Harley didn't lose anything today. Also, it is wintertime and riding, buying bikes, buying motorclothes, opening of new plants affect the temporary stock price. Hang on to your stock. It will go up and probably split, as it has for me 3 times since I have had it. Every time Harley branches out, the stock goes down, then eventually it surpasses the previous price. Harley is a good, solid company these days.

Answer 3

If you look at the one year chart on the stock you will see why it's going down. Attached is the chart.

HOG, symbol. Jan. 07, the chart gives a signal to sell the stock, so all the day traders have been taking profit on it.
The company has not been selling as many bikes per month as they had been.

It will pick back up, but the stock is only a money maker if....You buy short term and sell at the high's. BY April 08 it will be really low, you might want to buy some stock then.

Answer 4

the motor co. announced that earnings per share would only be around$3.70 for 07, down from $3.93 for 2006.in addition only 49% of the heavy weight bikes sold in 06 were harleys, its the first time in more than a decade that harley did'nt sell more than all the other bike manufacturers combined.
investors have been waiting for the harley bubble to burst & are thinking this might be it so are selling & taking their profits now. the thinking is, the median age of a typical harley buyer is now 47 how long can this go on?
2006 heavy weight bike market share follows
Harley49%
Honda15%
Suzuki13%
Yamaha 9%
Kawasaki 7%
other 8%

Answer 5

Hang in there and ride out the storm! Harley has been around for a long time ( longer than most if not all the rice burners) and will continue to be a front runner for the person who wants a nostalgic ride, not just a zip and a bang. Sure you pay alot for a Harley, but whats worth waiting for usually does cost more money. Anyway I think this is off the subject at hand. The stock will come back as will the economy, but this might take a while. I don't think we've seen the worst of it yet. Looks to me like we are heading for a recession. All I got to say is hold on to your *** because the worst is yet to come.

Answer 6

It's part of the so-called credit crisis. A Harley motorcycle is perceived as a luxury item, by those who don't have one. It is going to be harder for those people to get a loan to buy one, thus raising the possibility that fewer Harleys will be sold. In anticipation of that, people who have shares of the stock are selling.

Answer 7

Harley in many ways fallls into the "Luxury" category, unlike Japanese bikes that many buy because they cheap and easy to buy..
In the type of economy in which we are now living, luxury items often suffer, but not to worry in time ( most likely when the sub-prime mortgage issue cools out) the economy will stabilize and once again those of us with disposable income will be buying new Harley's again.
In the mean time we'll just continue to ride the ones we have.

If you were not aware the country is and has been on the verge of a recession for quite awhile, big ticket and luxury items are the first to suffer in a tight economy,

btw, Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha and Suzuki are all down as well.

But thanks so much for your concern.

Answer 8

Your picture is pretty gay.

Not everyone wants technology dated back to the 50's. Come on be real with yourself......do you really think pushrods are the way of the future....and thats whats holding harley back. You cant run a higher RPM with pushrods...thats what all the smart V-twin companies have went to Cams and Desmo valve train. Even Victory is using cams.....I think there bikes are much more advanced then harleys. They have them bean in suspension, braking, power, technology. I think people are starting to relize harleys are everything there cracked up to be.

And if you want real V-twin power ride a Aprilia Mille or a Duc 1098.....they got the power thing down to a t....harley is playing catch up...the V rod is nothing compared the the power and torque of these two italian beasts.

Answer 9

not everyone wants a a harley. it is not the best bike on the planet. the baby boomers are bought out and the younger generation won't pay high prices for a inferior bike. harley will never ever see the sales they had in the past.

Answer 10

The price of gas is climbing daily, homebuilding and mortgage industries are tanking. When times get tough, people don't spend money on toys. The stock market has been heading south for days. Yes, they will recover.

Answer 11

Look at the price and mainly the attitude of Harley-Davidson dealerships they have gotten way outta hand.Who wants to go to a dealership and be treated like they are crap because they cannot afford to buy a 30,000 dollar motorcycle,or want to have their older motorcycle serviced. Our dealerships attitudes are hurting Harley-Davidson,not our quality!!