Zumiez Shares Zoomed: 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 teen retailer Zumiez (NAS: ZUMZ) climbed 12% today after its same-store sales and holiday-quarter guidance beat Wall Street expectations.

So what: Zumiez's December was so impressive -- stores open at least a year rose 10% versus the consensus of just 5% -- that analysts are being forced to increase their growth expectations yet again. Zumiez managed to top Wall Street's same-store sales estimates in all but two months during 2011, but with the stock once again approaching its 52-week highs, the bar will definitely be higher in 2012.

Now what: Expect the momentum to continue. The strong holiday season prompted management to up its fourth-quarter EPS forecast to $0.57 to $0.58, which also topped the average analyst estimate of $0.54. Of course, with the stock on a nice a run over the past few months and currently trading at a not-so-paltry P/E of 27, I'd wait until a little less optimism is baked into the shares.

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At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Zumiez. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.

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