Farfetch Soars After Pact to Help Harrods Woo Online Shoppers

NEW YORK, United States — Farfetch shares advanced for a third straight session and hit their highest levels of the year following an e-commerce pact with London-based luxury department store Harrods that may lead to more business from elite retailers.

The stock gained as much as 9.4 percent and traded at its highest level since mid-December. Shares of the online retail apparel company have gained more than 20 percent over the past three sessions.

On Tuesday, Farfetch announced a strategic partnership with Harrods to provide the department store with a global e-commerce platform. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but the "endorsement of Farfetch’s global e-commerce model by Harrods, an elite and globally aspirational department store, will likely open doors for more elite retailers to follow suit and seek Farfetch’s e-expertise," BI analyst Deborah Aitken wrote.

Despite the recent gains, Farfetch remains more than 20 percent below an all-time high reached in September, shortly after the company went public.

Cowen analyst John Blackledge on Tuesday affirmed his outperform rating and $28 price target on the stock, forecasting “strong results” in Farfetch’s upcoming fourth-quarter report, which will be released after the market closes on Thursday.

“We expect Farfetch to consolidate the highly fragmented $300 billion global luxury market in coming years, driven by rising customers and orders as well as above average take rates and high average order value,” he wrote, adding that recent share-price weakness "underscores an attractive opportunity."

Farfetch is expected to report an adjusted net loss of 10 cents a share on revenue of $180.4 million in the quarter, according to Bloomberg data.

Seven firms rate the stock the equivalent of a buy, while three rate it a hold. None of the analysts tracked by Bloomberg recommend selling the stock. The average analyst price target is $25.

By Ryan Vlastelica; Catherine Larkin, Will Daley