Charlotte Russe Shares Soar 16% on Profit

Some refreshing news in the retail industry: Charlotte Russe(CHIC Quote) beat expectations with fewer markdowns.

Shares of the women's apparel retailer soared 16% to $13.99, after an analyst upgraded the company a day after it posted those better-than-expected earnings.

J.P. Morgan analyst Anna Andreeva upgraded Charlotte Russe to overweight from neutral, citing a possible operating margin recovery.

"Since coming on board last November, the new management team has been focused on better product and merchandise margin expansion through tighter inventory management, more strategic promotions and growth in direct sourcing," Andreeva wrote in a note on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the company posted a profit of $6.3 million, or 29 cents a share, compared with $6.6 million, or 31 cents, in the year-ago period. Excluding charges related to putting itself up for sale, the company actually earned 33 cents, far surpassing Wall Street's estimate of 24 cents.

Sales even rose 5% to $202.7 million, while same-store sales declined 3.6%.

Charlotte Russe had opposed a takeover offer by investment firms KarpReilly and H.I.G. Capital in November, saying it wanted to stick to its plan. When shareholders complained about that decision, the company decided to put itself up for sale -- a