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 Tile Shop Holdings (TTSH -1.30%) were down as much as 17% this morning following the company's earnings release but finished 7% higher as shares soared in the afternoon
So what: The specialty tile retailer came up short on the top and bottom lines as sales grew 13.3% to $64.4 million, and earnings improved to $0.09 a share. Analysts had expected $67.4 million and $0.11, respectively. Management said sales were affected by "harsh winter weather conditions" as same-store sales fell 2.3% in the quarter. For the full year, Tile Shop expects to open 20 new stores and sees a same-store sales increase of 4%-6% and EPS of $0.41-$0.45, in line with estimates at $0.44.
Now what: Given the weak quarter and average outlook, Tile Shop's jump this afternoon was a bit of a mystery. Shares of fellow flooring retailer Lumber Liquidators (LL -2.89%) were down as much as 8% this morning on its own underwhelming earnings report before recovering to positive territory as the two stocks tracked in tandem. Apparently, investors saw a buying opportunity on these two embattled high-growth housing plays, and they pounced. With ambitious store expansion expected from Tile Shop, there was certainly an argument this morning that the shares were undervalued, but I wouldn't jump in unless I saw solid growth from the housing market once again.
