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 Urban Outfitters (URBN 5.00%), an apparel and accessories retailer catering to teens and young adults, rose as much as 11% after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter results.
So what: For the quarter, Urban Outfitters delivered a 12% increase in sales to $758.5 million, which was driven primarily by organic growth. Cumulative comparable-store sales rose 9%, with its flagship Urban Outfitters stores seeing a 5% boost and Free People adding 38% in a year-over-year comparison. Net income also jumped 25%, with the company reporting EPS of $0.51. Comparatively, Wall Street had expected just $0.48 in EPS. On the heels of its earnings beat, Wedbush upgraded Urban Outfitters to "outperform" from "neutral" and placed a $52 price target on the company -- roughly 30% higher than yesterday's closing price.
Now what: Urban Outfitters has been outpacing analysts' estimates for years, so this is really nothing new. Many investors had expected a downbeat quarter given the struggles at other teen retailers like American Eagle Outfitters and Abercrombie & Fitch, but Urban Outfitters continues to show investors that managing its inventory prudently and discounting sparingly is the key to success in the retail world. While today is certainly a victory for shareholders, I don't consider the company much of a bargain anymore at 20 times forward earnings, and would suggest waiting for a sizable pullback.
