Shares of women's clothing retailer Chico's FAS Inc. (CHS) traded sharply higher Wednesday morning, despite missing its earnings estimate by one penny before the market opened.

Going into this fourth-quarter earnings report, analysts had been expecting to see earnings of $0.13 per share, but the company came up a bit shy at just $0.12.

Continue reading Chico's FAS Soars Despite Earnings Miss

Chico's FAS Soars Despite Earnings Miss originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Unlike Talbots, Chico's (NYSE: CHS) is already chic. This retail stock doesn't need a boost from Mrs. Obama, but an endorsement wouldn't hurt either.

Its White House/Black Market stores have seen explosive growth over the past decade and seem to have the type of products that would look good in the real White House.

In the immediate aftermath of the credit crisis, shares of CHS collapsed.

Continue reading Obama stock #2: Chico's (CHS)

Obama stock #2: Chico's (CHS) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 13 Jun 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We all know the impact that celebrities have on businesses. One of the most obvious instances of this phenomenon comes from the Oprah Winfrey Show. For example, when a title makes it into her book club, millions of loyal followers immediately take action, and sales follow.

These days, Michelle Obama is giving Oprah a run for her money. The First Lady is being closely watched by millions, and she too has a loyal following. She also appears to have a fashion sense that resonates with consumers around the globe. We all saw the number of stories and speculation about her gown during the inauguration.

Continue reading Move over Oprah -- Michelle Obama's got the touch

Move over Oprah -- Michelle Obama's got the touch originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 13 Jun 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shares of women's specialty retailer Chico's FAS (NYSE: CHS) rose slightly yesterday despite the company posting another quarterly loss.

The operator of 1,074 Chico's, White House/Black Market and Soma Intimates stores said its fourth-quarter loss widened on store impairment charges and severance costs, but absent those charges results exceeded Wall Street's expectations.

The loss for the quarter was $40.5 million, or 23 cents per share including the charges, and 14 cents per share without. Last year's fourth-quarter loss was $20.5 million, or 12 cents per share. Sales fell 9% from a year ago to $373.4 million, while same-store sales were off 13% overall (17% at Chico's and 5% at White House/Black Market).

Continue reading Chico and the woman

Chico and the woman originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 08:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Results for the tech stocks in last week's preview were a mixed bag, some beats, some misses, some in line. By and large, expectations for tech companies reporting results this week remain high, though. Here's what analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are anticipating in the way of earnings, as compared to the same period of the previous year.

• Solarfun Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: SOLF): $1.48 EPS (+73.0%) on sales of $1.3 billion (+171.0%)
• Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL): $0.21 EPS (+71.4%) on sales of $836.7 million (+27.4%)
• Solera Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SLH): $0.29 EPS (+51.7%) on sales of $137.0 million (+11.8%)
• Applied Signal Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: APSG): $0.14 EPS (+42.9%) on sales of $46.4 million (+17.4%)
• China Finance Online Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JRJC): $0.14 EPS (+42.6%) on sales of $13.3 million (+131.5%)
• OSI Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: OSIS): $0.38 EPS (+36.8%) on sales of $162.0 million (+6.0%)
• LaBarge Inc. (AMEX: LB): $0.27 EPS (+33.3%) on sales of $71.6 million (+10.4%)
• Esterline Technologies Corp. (NYSE: ESL): $0.69 EPS (+11.6%) on sales of $374.6 million (+14.8%)
• Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL): $0.36 EPS (+11.1%) on sales of $15.9 billion (+7.8%)
• HEICO Corp. (NYSE: HEI): $0.46 EPS (+13.0%) on sales of $147.1 million (+10.5%)
• Daktronics Inc. (NASDAQ: DAKT): $0.17 EPS (flat) on sales of $141.5 million (+17.0%)
• Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL): $0.05 EPS (flat) on sales of $241.4 million (-0.7%)
• Omnivision Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI): $0.29 EPS (-17.1%) on sales of $172.5 million (-0.4%)
• Sigma Designs Inc. (NASDAQ: SIGM): $0.39 EPS (-18.8%) on sales of $58.7 million (+37.9%)

Continue reading The week in preview: Earnings expectations for techs, Canadian banks

The week in preview: Earnings expectations for techs, Canadian banks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 24 Aug 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For a bearish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a September bear-call credit spread above the $50 range. A bear-call credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of call options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make an 8.7% return in four and a half months as long as CHS is below $7.50 at November expiration. CHS would have to rise by more than 40% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

Continue reading Chico's FAS (CHS) drops on slowing sales

Chico's FAS (CHS) drops on slowing sales originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Investors are taking their money out of hedge funds more now that at any time over the past 10 years, according to the Wall Street Journal. Firms are bracing for the end of June when the next big wave will hit.
• First it was a demand for management changes, and now shareholders, including one time director Eli Broad and fund managers Shelby Davis of Davis Selected Advisors and Bill Miller of Legg Mason Inc (NYSE: LM), are again upset with American International Group Inc (NYSE: AIG) and want changes in the boardroom as well, the Wall Street Journal reported.
• The Wall Street Journal reported that Citigroup Incorporated (NYSE: C) will close Old Lane Partners, a hedge fund co-founded by CEO Vikram Pandit.

• Spotlight Capital is increasing pressure on Chico's FAS Inc (NYSE: CHS) and said it has been in touch with 25 major shareholders in order to oust CEO Scott Edmonds and unseat board member John Burden, who are accused of having a conflict of interest, the New York Post reported.

• Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NYSE: AMD) denied reports certain of its new dual-core chip, code-named Kuma, have been canceled, according to CNet. A spokesman for the company said that the launch of Kuma, scheduled for the second half of 2008, remains on track.

Newspaper wrap-up: Citigroup to shut Old Lane Partners hedge fund originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Jun 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Insiders stock up on retail stocks -- the ultimate clearance?

Insiders stock up on retail stocks -- the ultimate clearance? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 18 Dec 2007 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Blue Nile Inc (NASDAQ: NILE) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 5pm.
• SINA Corporation (NASDAQ: SINA) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 9pm.

• Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 11am.
• Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 4:30pm.

• Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 8am.
• Hot Topic Inc (NASDAQ: HOTT) to report monthly sales at 4pm.

• More monthly sales reports, including: Chicos FAS Inc (NYSE: CHS) at 7:30am; Limited Brands Inc (NYSE: LTD) at 7:30am; Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE: WMT) at 8am; AnnTaylor Stores Corporation (NYSE: ANN) at 8am; and Abercrombie & Fitch Co (NYSE: ANF) at 8:15am.

• EchoStar Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 12pm.
• PDUFA date for Solvay SA (OTC: SVYSY) and Wyeth's (NYSE: WYE) Bifeprunox for the treatment of Schizophrenia.

Market highlights for next week: Sprint Nextel (S), Cisco (CSCO) to report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Aug 2007 15:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Chico's growth returning, gross margins still in question originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Apr 2007 11:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Friedman, Billings, Ramsey upgraded shares of Chico's FAS Inc (NYSE: CHS) to Market Perform from Underperform and raised their target to $25 from $17 on valuation.

• Matrix USA upgraded Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) to Hold from Sell on valuation.

• Sanders Morris upgraded Clear Channel Communications (NYSE: CCU) to Hold from Sell, as the firm believes the disapproval by holders to sell the company will result in shares trading in the $34-$37 range.

• Lehman upgraded PPL Corp (NYSE: PPL) to Overweight from Equal-Weight.

• Friedman, Billings, Ramsey continued to recommend shares of Urban Outfitters, Inc (NASDAQ: URBN) with an Outperform rating as the firm has seen consistent progress at both the company's divisions throughout March. Friedman added Urban Outfitters to its Top Picks list.

• JP Morgan raised Sonic Corp (NASDAQ: SONC) to an Overweight rating from Neutral, and believes shares have priced in softer Q2 sales that were pre-announced late-February.

• Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc (NYSE: MSO) was upgraded at Bear Stearns to Peer Perform from Underperform.

• Morgan Stanley upgraded Mylan Laboratories (NYSE: MYL) to Neutral from Sell.

• Goldman Sachs upgraded the Mortgage Insurance sector to Neutral from Cautious.

Analyst upgrades 3-27-07: Urban Outfitters, Chico's FAS & Martha Stewart upgraded today originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 Mar 2007 10:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Chico's same store sales growth bottoming originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Mar 2007 08:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.