eCost Enjoying Early Holiday Cheer

The holiday season is almost upon us, but holders of eCost.com (ECST Quote) may be celebrating early this year.

Shares in the e-tailer were up 7% in recent trading on Friday and have posted a 62% gain since last week, when the company reported third-quarter results. Since it debuted on the public markets in August, eCost's stock has surged more than 200%.

eCost has been riding the momentum of other stocks in the sector, particularly that of Overstock.com(OSTK Quote), a couple of investors said. A number of e-commerce companies seem to have been boosted by the bullish comments made by Amazon.com(AMZN Quote) CEO Jeff Bezos earlier in the week, as well as the general sentiment that e-commerce as a whole will do well this holiday season, said James "Rev Shark" De Porre, a contributor to TheStreet.com's sister site, RealMoney. Bezos predicted that Amazon would have a record holiday season, according to published reports.

"Everything is flying. It's just one of those periods when folks are willing to chase things that have already moved big," said De Porre, who recently sold most of his shares of eCost, but retains a small long position in the stock.

Indeed, while eCost's stock has surged more than that of its peers, much of the sector has traded up in recent sessions. Shares of Overstock, for instance, have risen 30% since the company posted its third-quarter results late last month. eBay's(EBAY Quote) stock hit an all-time high on Friday and is up 19% since the online auction giant posted its third-quarter earnings.

eCost's quarterly report helped ignite its shares, said one hedge fund manager, who asked not to be named. While the company's bottom line swung to a loss from a year-earlier profit, that was largely due to charges related to its IPO. Meanwhile, the company's revenue jumped 70% over the year-ago period.