Trade on Quiksilver, Body Central, and Aeropostale Earnings Today originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Expedia (EXPE) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Weatherford (WFT) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• MDC Holdings (MDC) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• AutoNavi (AMAP) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Ciena (CIEN) and Nvidia (NVDA) to neutral from underweight at JPMorgan.
• Canadian Pacific (CP) to outperform from market perform at Raymond James.
• First Midwest (FMBI) and Quiksilver (ZQK) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Sonic (SONC) to neutral from negative at Susquehanna.
• MIPS Technologies (MIPS) to buy from hold at Benchmark Co.
• Arrow Electronics (ARW) and Avnet (AVT) to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ANF, BBBY, CIEN, CP, EXPE, ICE, NVDA, QCOM, SONC ...

Analyst Calls: ANF, BBBY, CIEN, CP, EXPE, ICE, NVDA, QCOM, SONC ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE: B) withdrew its 2009 earnings guidance due to uncertainty in transportation.
• Brown-Forman Corp. (NYSE: BF.B) Q4 profit beat estimates and it offered guidance for next year.
• Del Monte Foods Co. (NYSE: DLM) posted strong Q4 results on price increases and a better tax situation.
• FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) posted lower Q2 sales but announced a big order from South Korea.
• Men's Wearhouse Inc. (NYSE: MW) lower Q1 profit topped estimates but the outlook was in line.
• National Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE: NSM) Q4 net loss and fiscal-year profit both beat estimates.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Del Monte, Men's Wearhouse, National Semiconductor, Talbots ...

Earnings highlights: Del Monte, Men's Wearhouse, National Semiconductor, Talbots ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 13 Jun 2009 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If ever a brand could use a boost it's Talbots (NYSE: TLB).

This week the company announced that profits plummeted 68% to $1.6 million in the quarter ended May 3.

This conservative women's clothing store has lacked the pizzazz to capture a larger market share. Michelle Obama wearing TLB injects some much needed life into the brand.

After the election, when it was known that Mrs. Obama wore Talbots, shares bounced significantly. Previously, the stock was threatening to broach the $1 mark. Today, you can buy shares for around $5.

Continue reading Obama stock #1: Talbots (TLB)

Obama stock #1: Talbots (TLB) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 13 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Quiksilver (NYSE: ZQK), an apparel company that, like related name Nike (NYSE: NKE), deals with sports clothing and accessories, is not having a good day. Shares of the business are down in early afternoon trading by over 20%. On Monday, Quiksilver reported Q2 earnings. The market obviously is reticent about them.

According to the press release (note: that link takes you to a .pdf file), Quiksilver saw a drop in sales of 8% after currency effects were stripped out (it's always disappointing when you strip out currency effects and still come out with a drop). The company made $0.05 per share from continuing operations on an adjusted basis. That compares to $0.30 per share in the year-ago period. And that's one heck of a decrease.

Continue reading Quiksilver down on Q2 report

Quiksilver down on Q2 report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The problem with using consumer confidence as a guide to buy stocks is that consumers tend to be fickle.

Nowhere is that more true than in the clothing space, especially the teenybopper clothing space. Fall out of favor with the younger crowd and your business can be destroyed. Poor management decisions don't help, either.

As such, Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ: PSUN) lost its mojo and has yet to find its way.

Continue reading Consumer stocks to sell now: #1 -- Pacific Sunwear (PSUN)

Consumer stocks to sell now: #1 -- Pacific Sunwear (PSUN) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 06 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• B. Riley upgraded shares of Quiksilver (NYSE: ZQK) to Buy from Neutral on valuation and to reflect the EPS catalyst and debt reduction associated with divesting Rossignol.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded shares of Omniture (NASDAQ: OMTR) to Outperform from Market Perform following the recent pullback, as they believe the company is in its best competitive position ever, which should drive increasing win rates and help restore pricing power.
  
• Banc of America upgraded shares of Crown Holdings (NYSE: CCK) to Buy from Neutral to reflect the company's international exposure and believes metal packaging companies should be better able to manage input inflation.

• UBS raised AmerisourceBergen (NYSE: ABC) to Neutral from Sell.
  
• Stephens raised its rating on Amedisys (NASDAQ: AMED) to Overweight from Equal Weight.
  
• Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) and JC Penney (NYSE: JCP) were upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Analyst upgrades: JWN, JCP, ZQK, OMTR and CCK originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 10 Mar 2008 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If your idea of the best way to travel involves an Arbor Fish longboard, or a Burton Chopper, then there is an outfit in Everett, Washington that has your basics and all your accessories, too.

Zumiez (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) is a mall-based specialty retailer of sports-related apparel and equipment. Apparel offerings carry such brand names as Billabong, Burton, Hurley and Quiksilver, as well as private labels. The equipment includes skateboards, snowboards, boots, bindings, and miscellaneous novelties. Stores cater to young people, between the ages of 12 and 24. The firm operates 266 outlets, in 22 states.

Zumiez pleased investors last week, when it announced Q2 EPS of 11 cents and revenues of $82 million. Analysts had been expecting 8 cents and $79.3 million. Management also guided FY08 EPS to 97-99 cents (97 cent consensus). The news helped pop the shares out of a mid-August "cup" into the late August "handle" of a Cup & Handle formation. The price is now showing signs of completing the pattern with a bullish rise from the right-hand side of the "handle."

Brokers recommend the shares with five "strong buys," four "buys" and four "holds." Analysts see a 29% average annual growth rate, through the next five years. The ZUMZ Sales Growth rate (46.95%), EPS Growth rate (83.33%), Return on Assets (14.03%), Return on Investment (19.61%) and Return on Equity (22.12%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutional investors hold about 91% of the outstanding shares. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $20.00 and $48.10. A stop-loss of $39.00 looks good here.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com.

Zumiez (ZUMZ): Gear for the action sports crowd originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 28 Aug 2007 15:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.