Vera Bradley Shares Popped: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of handbag and accessories company Vera Bradley (NAS: VRA) climbed 10% on Wednesday after its quarterly results and full-year guidance topped Wall Street expectations.

So what: Vera Bradley's second-quarter profit beat was so clean -- $0.34 per share versus analyst consensus of $0.29 -- that investors are naturally anticipating more great results for the rest of the year. In fact, management raised its full-year earnings guidance to $1.32-$1.35 per share from $1.27 to $1.30, suggesting that the operating momentum is pretty strong indeed.

Now what: I wouldn't get too excited about the stock just yet. While today's results are encouraging, Vera Bradley is still very much in its formative stages and isn't exactly growing at a breakneck pace just yet. With the shares trading at a P/E premium to more established rivals like Coach (NYS: COH) and Guess? (NYS: GES) , the risks don't seem worth it.

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At the time thisarticle was published

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