Children's Place (PLCE) closed up 5% on Wednesday. Volume? Not bad at all. An earnings report got the market interested in the stock. Should the rest of us be just as interested?

For the fourth quarter, income from continuing operations, on an adjusted basis, came in at $1.03 per diluted share. The growth was very strong; last year, the retailer only made 72 cents per diluted share from continuing operations, excluding items. According to our earnings preview, expectations were right on target.

Children's Place (NASDAQ: PLCE) didn't have that bad of a first quarter. I was actually surprised to see increases in both comparable sales and earnings per share. Not every retailer can boast such a claim.

The press release said that net sales from continuing operations were essentially flat. Keeping the top line steady is something of a victory in this economy. On an adjusted basis, Children's Place earned $0.74 per diluted share from continuing operations. That's actually three pennies better than the previous year's performance. It would have been nice if the retailer had been able to beat the analysts in the expectations game, but it was not to be. The bottom line merely met the call.

Children's Place Retail Stores, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCE) has been in the news recently because it hasn't been able to maximize the value of the licensing agreement it made with The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) for its Disney Store chain a few years ago. In fact, it looks like Disney will be taking a lot of the stores back (I don't think Disney should do this, though). Well, Children's Place got some more bad news Monday in the form of an earnings cut from an analyst. John Zolidis, of Buckingham Research Group, believes Children's Place will achieve $0.40 per share for Q1, a number that is $0.09 lower than his previous earnings expectation. For the year, he thinks the retailer can do $1.44 per share; his previous estimate was $1.55 per share.

Of course, an analyst is not doing his job if he doesn't send something of a mixed message. He's cutting his expectations for earnings while at the same time saying that the valuation might be attractive at the moment for Children's Place's stock. Well, I sort of understand what he is saying, but let me say this: I don't like Children's Place right now and won't be buying shares, good valuation or not. This is one of those stocks and companies that just doesn't inspire confidence; the retailer plays in a tough niche, the stock is well off its highs, it couldn't properly grow Disney's retail operations, and, perhaps most importantly, there simply might be better ideas out there. If one wants to play retail, why not a Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) or a Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT)?

Nope, I'm not interested in Children's Place. With this earnings cut, and with stronger retailers up for consideration, I think investors might do better buying something else. Yes, the stock and/or company will probably rebound, but I'm just not in the mood to speculate with this brand.

Disclosure: I own shares in Disney; positions can change at any time.