We think the Softlines reopening trade ends no later than September:

The pivotal Softlines questions are: 1) How long will the "reopening trade" last? and 2)What will stocks do until then? We believe Softline stock prices could increase 7-13%into September, driven by strong upward revisions to sell-side consensus EPS estimates.Our CY21 EPS forecasts for the 36 stocks we cover are 18% above the Street's view, onaverage. However, we think the rally ends in September and stock performances coulddiverge from there. This causes us to increasingly favor stocks with strong andunderappreciated post-pandemic growth prospects over those without them.

Top Buy ideas: NKE, DECK, GOOS, RL, SKX, LEVI, PVH, AEO, and CPRI:

These stocks have bright long-term growth prospects as well as the best combination ofupside to consensus EPS estimates and P/E expansion potential vs. the other choices inour coverage universe. We think these stocks are best positioned to outperform oncethe Softlines narrative changes to "which companies can lap tough CY21 compares andadapt to retail disruption" from "who has most leverage to a spending rebound" as thereopening trade ends. We continue to rate Nordstrom and Macy's Sell. While the marketis bullish on these stocks today due to a likely strong, reopening-driven earningsrebound, our view is sentiment will quickly turn bearish once reopening is fully priced in.