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Strategies & Market Trends : Market Gems:Stocks w/Strong Earnings and High Tech. Rank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: garrick le who wrote (66156)	10/13/1999 6:58:00 PM
From: kendall harmon	Respond to of 120523

ANF--A complete overreaction for sure today. <<Reynoldsburg, Ohio, Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Abercrombie & Fitch Co. forecast fiscal third-quarter profit and sales that were lower than some analysts' expected, sending the clothing retailer's shares down 19 percent. The retailer, which sells casual clothing to college-age adults, fell 6 3/16 to 26 5/16. The stock earlier dropped to 23 3/8, the biggest one-day decline since the company went public in September 1996. Abercrombie & Fitch said it expects to meet the 31 cent-a- share estimate of analysts polled by First Call Corp. Some forecasts ranged as high as 33 cents for the quarter ending Oct. 31. The retailer has beaten earnings forecasts every quarter since its initial offering. ''Obviously people were looking for more,'' said analyst Judy Meehan at Parker Hunter Inc., who rates the stock ''strong buy.'' The Reynoldsburg, Ohio-based company said sales at stores open at least a year have risen 12 percent so far this quarter. That's at the low end of some forecasts. Jeffrey Klinefelter, a U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray analyst, said he expected a gain of 12 percent to 16 percent. Abercrombie & Fitch said its October sales promotion wasn't as successful as expected. Same-store sales are considered an important retail measure because they exclude new, remodeled and closed stores. Same-store sales at rival American Eagle Outfitters Inc., meantime, rose 34 percent in September and 24 percent in August. American Eagle shares fell 4 1/2 to 48 1/2. 'Falling Knife' Abercrombie & Fitch said it broke a policy of only releasing quarterly same-store sales figures because of speculation about its sales numbers in recent weeks. Abercrombie & Fitch's shares had lost about a third of their value between July 9, when they closed at 48 5/16, and yesterday's final price of 32 1/2. The price drop is an overreaction, Klinefelter said. ''When there's a falling knife, people tend to run away from it and then go back and look,'' he said. Klinefelter said same-store sales should not be used solely to judge Abercrombie & Fitch's outlook because the company still is growing. The retailer, with 222 stores, is expected to open about 30 by the end of its fiscal year in January and 80 more this year, he said. The new stores are demonstrating stronger opening sales. Abercrombie & Fitch will release its results on Nov. 9.>>