NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (JCP) - Get Report are higher by 6.26% to $8.32 in mid-morning trading on Tuesday, after analysts at Piper Jaffray raised their price target on the department store retailer to $14 from $13 and increased its comp estimates for the first quarter up 3% versus its previous up 1% estimate.

The firm adjusted its outlook on J.C. Penney based on favorable weather conditions when compared to last year, and as it believes the release of the Apple (AAPL) - Get Report watch next month will result in an uptick in mall traffic, theflyonthewall.com reports.

Piper Jaffray maintained its "overweight" rating on J.C. Penney.

"This is a very gutsy call," said TheStreet's Jim Cramer, co-manager of the Action Alerts PLUS portfolio, on CNBC's "Mad Dash" segment.

J.C. Penney is a Texas based mall retailer that sells a variety of consumer products ranging from clothing for children and adults to bedding, cookware, furniture, accessories, shoes, and more.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates PENNEY (J C) CO as a Sell with a ratings score of D. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate PENNEY (J C) CO (JCP) a SELL. This is driven by some concerns, which we believe should have a greater impact than any strengths, and could make it more difficult for investors to achieve positive results compared to most of the stocks we cover. The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its unimpressive growth in net income, generally high debt management risk, poor profit margins and generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

• The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed against the S&P 500 and did not exceed that of the Multiline Retail industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 268.6% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from $35.00 million to -$59.00 million.
• The debt-to-equity ratio is very high at 2.83 and currently higher than the industry average, implying increased risk associated with the management of debt levels within the company.
• The gross profit margin for PENNEY (J C) CO is currently lower than what is desirable, coming in at 33.75%. Regardless of JCP's low profit margin, it has managed to increase from the same period last year.
• The share price of PENNEY (J C) CO has not done very well: it is down 12.78% and has underperformed the S&P 500, in part reflecting the company's sharply declining earnings per share when compared to the year-earlier quarter. The fact that the stock is now selling for less than others in its industry in relation to its current earnings is not reason enough to justify a buy rating at this time.
• The return on equity has improved slightly when compared to the same quarter one year prior. This can be construed as a modest strength in the organization. Compared to other companies in the Multiline Retail industry and the overall market, PENNEY (J C) CO's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.
• You can view the full analysis from the report here: JCP Ratings Report