Analyst Ups Children's Place, Sees Sales Growth

NEW YORK (AP) — An analyst upgraded shares of The Children's Place Retail Stores Inc. on Friday after the retailer posted a better-than-expected 4-percent rise in sales at stores open at least a year.

Sales at stores open at least year is a key indicator of a retailers' health because it excludes sales at newly opened stores.

Wall Street analysts had expected a decline of 1.3 percent, and September's 4 percent growth was higher than the 1 percent increase a year ago.

Stifel Nicolaus analyst Richard E. Jaffe upgraded the stock to "Buy" from "Hold" and said management has been able to boost sales with promotions.

Furthermore, there's an opportunity to boost performance once the company hires a chief executive to replace interim CEO Chuck Crovitz.

Former CEO Ezra Dabah was forced out in 2007 after a company probe found he had violated internal policies for securities trades.

Meanwhile, Children's Place in July said it reached a deal with Dabah, in which it would buy about 50 percent of the shares owned by him and his family. In return, Dabah and his father-in-law, Stanley Silverstein, said they would resign from the board.