Why ANN Shares Soared
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 women's apparel retailer ANN (NYS: ANN) -- parent of Ann Taylor and LOFT stores -- surged 20% today after the company's quarterly results and guidance easily topped Wall Street expectations.
So what: Today's wide second-quarter beat -- EPS of $0.63 on revenue of $594.9 million versus the consensus of just $0.51 and $585.6 million -- coupled with upbeat guidance for the full year suggests that the company's turnaround momentum isn't about to slow anytime soon. Demand for ANN's brighter and more colorful assortments remained strong even as management reduced promotions, giving investors plenty of optimism about the strength of its brands going forward.
Now what: Management now sees full-year 2012 sales of $2.39 billion, up slightly from its prior view of $2.38 billion and ahead of the Wall Street consensus of $2.37 billion. "Clearly, our performance at [Ann Taylor and LOFT] demonstrated strong product acceptance driven by the successful delivery of compelling fashion, excellent quality, outstanding value and an engaging shopping experience, in store and online," said CEO Kay Krill in a statement. Of course, with the stock busting through a new 52-week high today, I'd wait for a significant pullback before buying into that bullishness.
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The article Why ANN Shares Soared originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. 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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