Specialty Stores

Pre-open movers US stock futures are lower this morning. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 31 points to 12,560.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index fell 3.70 points to 1,338.00. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 6.25 points to 2,362.75. A Peek Into Global Markets Asian...

Bank of America raised its rating on Zale (NYSE: ZLC) from Neutral to Buy.

Liberty Media Corporation (NASDAQ: LCAPA) announced Wednesday that it has made a proposal to acquire Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) for $17 per share in cash. Liberty's offer is a 20% premium to the Thursday closing price of Barnes & Noble, at tops $1 billion. Barnes & Noble put...

E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc (NYSE: DANG) is expected to post its Q1 EPS at $0.00 on revenue of $103.37 million. AnnTaylor Stores Corp (NYSE: ANN) is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.48 per share on revenue of $512.11 million. Donaldson Company Inc (NYSE: DCI) is projected to report...

Some of the stocks that may grab investor focus today are: Analysts expect AnnTaylor Stores Corp (NYSE: ANN) to report its Q1 earnings at $0.48 per share on revenue of $512.11 million. ANN shares gained 0.17% to $30.25 in the after-hours trading session. Gap Inc (NYSE: GPS) reported a 23% decline...

Hibbett Sports (NASDAQ: HIBB) is on tap to report fiscal first-quarter 2012 results tomorrow morning, May 20. Analysts are looking for the retailer to report that earnings grew 11.9% from a year ago to $0.67 per share. That consensus earnings estimate is unchanged from 60 days ago. Note that...

By 10:45 am, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 19.45 points, or 0.15%, to 12,579.63, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index had dropped 0.83 point, or 0.06%. The NASDAQ composite index fell 2.58 points, or 0.09%. Some of the narrow based indexes that are supporting the markets...

Syneron Medical Ltd (NASDAQ: ELOS) shares moved up 8.62% to $13.35 at 10:35 am. The volume of ELOS shares traded was 935% higher than normal. ELOS reported upbeat Q1 results. PetSmart Inc (NASDAQ: PETM) shares rose 6.00% to $45.04. The volume of PETM shares traded was 654% higher than normal. PETM...

Shares of Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: SHLD) fell about 4.3% after the company swung to a FQ1 loss from a year-ago profit. Sears Holdings posted a 3.6% drop in its domestic same-store sales. The company posted a quarterly loss at $170 million, or $1.58 per share, versus a net income of $16 million...

Shares of PetSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ: PETM) are exploding higher this morning after the company reported stellar Q1 results and increased EPS guidance for 2012. Currently, shares are higher by 7.67%, trading at $45.75. PetSmart, Inc. reported Q1 EPS of $0.61 on revenues of $1.49 billion; the Street...

Wedbush is out with its report today on PetSmart (NASDAQ: PETM), raising its PT from $51 to $54. In a note to clients, Wedbush writes, "Raising our price target to $54 (from $51), which assumes PETM should trade at 19x (previously 18x) our revised 2012 estimate of $2.70, or at the high end of the...

The Board of Directors of Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) today declared a dividend of $0.29 per share of Common Stock, reflecting a 16% increase in the quarterly rate. This action increases the quarterly dividend from $0.25 per share (or $1.00 annually) to a new rate of $0.29 per share (or $1.16 per...

J.P. Morgan has raised its price target from $43 to $45 on PetSmart Inc. (NASDAQ: PETM) as the company navigates a shifting story. According to J.P. Morgan, “The results of PETM merchandising efforts are now in full stride and while we anniversary the big initiatives by 2H (creating risk to...

Oppenheimer has downgraded the following companies: Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) from Outperform to Perform, PT from $26 to $19 OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX) from Outperform to Perform, PT from $14 to $9.50

Analysts at Collins Stewart downgraded Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd (NYSE: STP) from “buy” to “neutral.” STP's shares closed at $8.17 yesterday. STP's trailing-twelve-month profit margin is 8.16%. Bank of America downgraded Country Style Cooking Restaurant Chain Co Ltd (NYSE: CCSC) from “neutral...