** VF Corp's VFC.N shares up 12.5% to $13.50 on Tues after apparel and footwear retailer's top executives unveiled stock buys

** VFC shares among top performers in S&P 1500 index .SPSUP, which is up 2% on the session amid broader market strength .N

** CEO Bracken Darrell disclosed buying roughly 85,800 shares on Fri, or $1 mln worth, bringing his total holdings to ~295,000 shares, per SEC filing early Tues

** In addition, COO Abhishek Dalmia disclosed purchasing 50,000 shares, and board director Richard Carucci also bought 50,000 shares

** Denver, Colorado-based VFC, which owns brands such as North Face and Timberland, has ~389.7 mln shares outstanding for ~$5.3 bln current market cap, per LSEG data

** On May 21, VFC shares shed nearly 16% after co reported 5% y/y fall in Q4 rev to $2.14 bln, missing analysts' expectations, clipped by tariff uncertainty

** Despite move on Tues, VFC shares down 37% YTD vs ~24% decline in S&P 400 Apparel, Accessories and Luxury Goods sub-index .SPMDCTEXT

** Of 24 analysts covering VFC, recommendation breakdown is 4 "strong buy" or "buy", 18 "hold" and 2 "sell" ratings, latest LSEG data reflects

** Median PT of $14 down from $18 a month ago and from $25 on Mar 27

(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)

((lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))