Bank of America Maintains Underperform on Liz Claiborne

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is out with its report today on Liz Claiborne (NYSE: LIZ), maintaining Underperform.

In a note to clients, Bank of America Merrill Lynch writes, "We continue to believe LIZ's outlook remains in transition, as a turnaround in Mexx Europe and Lucky could take time and SGA deleverage could weigh on earnings, given soft top-line trends. LIZ's risk given its high leverage ratio for a specialty mallbased retailer could offset a profit swing in Partnered brands division in 2011 (Exit of Liz Family brands, including a Liz Claiborne exclusive licensing deal at JCP in Aug 2010)."

Bank of America Merrill Lynch maintains a $4 PO on LIZ.

Shares of LIZ closed Tuesday at $5.55, up 3.16% from Monday's close.