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 accessories and clothing store chain Francesca's Holdings (FRAN) climbed as high as 10% today after its quarterly results topped Wall Street expectations.
So what: The stock has slipped since August on signs of slowing sales growth, but today's fourth-quarter beat -- EPS of $0.33 on revenue of $86.7 million versus the consensus of $0.30 and $84.7 million -- naturally eases some of those concerns. In fact, same-store sales for the quarter rose a healthy 9.2%, giving investors plenty of good vibes over profitable expansion going forward.
Now what: Management now expects full-year EPS of $1.27-$1.30 on revenue of $365 million to $370 million, versus the consensus of $1.27 and $370.7 million. "We are well positioned with the teams and capabilities to continue expansion of our boutique base, increase boutique productivity, and further develop our direct-to-customer presence," said CEO Neill Davis. "Looking ahead, we continue our growth trajectory with 80 openings for fiscal 2013, reaching the milestone of over 400 locations by the end of the first quarter." With the stock still off about 25% from its 52-week high even after today's surge, there might even be room left to buy into that bullishness.
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