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Thursday, 23 February 2012 |
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Wednesday saw an extraordinary pre-market activity
in Wall Street, while European stocks saw the session in a discreet second row, weighted for the unsure future of Greece and its implications for the Eurozone.
Shares of Urban Outfitters Inc. rose Wednesday after analyst John Morris of BMO Capital Markets boosted his rating on Urban Outfitters stock to "Outperform" from "Market Perform" and increased his price target for the shares to $36 from $24.
Also in the US market, Chico's FAS Inc reported a 21 percent rise for the last three months in 2011 in quarterly earnings that beat estimates. Analysts highlighted Wednesday how its White House Black Market and Soma Intimates brands offset big discounts at its namesake division, sending its shares up 12 percent premarket.
For fiscal 2012, the women fashion retailer expects sales of about $2.5 billion, above market estimates. Gross margins decreased to 52.3 percent from 53.2 percent a year ago. However, that was a smaller slide than what the company had forecast earlier.
"The company posted a surprisingly strong fourth quarter given the performance of other women's retailers like Christopher & Banks Corp and Ann Inc, as well as the performance of the women's apparel category at the department stores," Nomura analyst Paul Lejuez wrote in a note to clients on Wednesday.
In the fourth quarter that ended Jan. 28, Chico's earned $25.1 million, or 15 cents per share, compared with $20.7 million, or 12 cents per share, a year earlier. Sales rose 20 percent to $569.2 million. On the other hand, analysts, on average, were expecting the company to earn 11 cents a share on sales of $546.7 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Chico's shares were higher at $14.35 Wednesday in premarket trading from Tuesday's close of $12.81 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Closing the American news, equities research analysts at UBS AG upped their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) from $44 to $49 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday. They currently have a “neutral” rating on the company’s shares. Separately, analysts at Deutsche Bank raised their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch to $51 in a research note to investors on Friday. Analysts at Nomura (NYSE: NMR) reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note to investors last week, while their peers at FBR Capital raised their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $50 to $55 in a research note to investors on Thursday, February 16th. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
Meanwhile and across the Atlantic, Oddo has downgraded Burberry Group from neutral to underweight, target price increased from 1325p to 1355p.
Last minute news came from Peacocks, which has been sold out of administration to Edinburgh Woollen Mill, as reported Wednesday. Chris Laverty, joint administrator at KPMG, said: 'Today's deal ensures the continued trading of a well-known name on the high street.
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