Guess Hits New Year High After Strong 3Q Report

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Shares of Guess Inc. climbed to a new year high Tuesday, a day after the apparel retailer reported strong third-quarter results and offered bullish projections for the fourth quarter and full year.

Shares rose $5.15, or 14 percent, to $42.20 in afternoon trading. The stock earlier peaked at $42.45, eclipsing a prior year high of $41.34 set Oct. 26.

In a note to clients, Wedbush Securities analyst Betty Chen told investors to "build positions in shares of Guess as we anticipate strengthening business momentum in North America retail, expansion in Europe, and increased penetration in Asia." Chen said the company's efforts to control costs and inventory management would boost profit results, as well.

Wedbush maintained an "Outperform" rating.

Late on Monday, Guess reported a third-quarter profit of 69 cents per share on sales of $522.8 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters predicted earnings of 50 cents per share on revenue of $482.6 million.

Guess also forecast fourth-quarter profit of 77 cents to 80 cents per share and full-year earnings of $2.45 to $2.48 per share. Both forecasts are above Wall Street's expectations.

"Guess will not only continue its strong international growth but will actually accelerate growth in its European operations," Boenning & Scattergood analyst Holly Guthrie said in a research report.

Guthrie has an "Outperform" rating on the shares.

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