Investors were pumping shares of Planet Fitness (PLNT) – Get Report higher on Friday on expectations that the gym and fitness chain will be among the first allowed to reopen its doors under President Donald Trump’s guidelines for easing the lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Planet Fitness stock was up 10% at $55.11 in trading on Friday following Trump’s phase one recommendations to restart the U.S. economy that would allow it to open itself back up – so long as it adheres to strict physical distancing and sanitation protocols.
The administration’s 18-page guidance document, revealed on Thursday, details three phases to reopen state economies, with each phase lasting, at minimum, 14 days.
Phase one includes much of the current lockdown measures such as avoiding non-essential travel and not gathering in groups, though it says large venues such as restaurants, places of worship and sports venues “can operate under strict physical distancing protocols.”
Gym operators have been hit particularly hard during the pandemic and ensuing shutdown of all non-essential businesses, which has left them with rent and other overhead costs but no income from monthly memberships.
Meantime, at-home fitness equipment and exercise-training providers have performed well through the Covid-19 crisis, with the likes of Peloton (PTON) – Get Report and Nautilus (NLS) – Get Report posting solid gains in recent weeks as fitness buffs move to workouts from home.
Shares of Peloton were down 7.54% at $33.61 in trading on Friday, while shares of Nautilus were down 9.14% at $4.67.
Marketing itself as a “Judgment Free Zone” that caters to novice and casual gym users, Hampton, N.H.-based Planet Fitness operates 1,859 clubs throughout the U.S., Canada and Central America.
