The Buzz
Gap stock spikes after strong sales report
March 7, 2013: 2:31 PM ET
Shares of Gap Inc. jumped after the apparel company reported healthy sales growth in February.
Gap (GPS) stock was briefly halted after the numbers were inadvertently released ahead of schedule due to a "vendor error," according to a Gap spokesperson. Shares rose 3% after trading resumed.
The report was set to be released after the market closed, but a transcript of a pre-recorded conference call detailing the sales growth was accidentally posted online by a vendor early Thursday.
Until recently, Gap has announced its monthly sales data before the market opened, but the company changed its policy this fiscal year, and now reports after the market close. Apparently, someone did not get the memo.
The snafu did not go unnoticed by traders on StockTwits.
bradloncar
Could this be a Uniqlo transaction??? $GPS
Nice try bradloncar. But not quite.
KarSun01
Looking at $GPS volume and options volume looks like this was already leaked... http://stks.co/s4ds
TMXmoney
Gap $GPS rev rises in Feb on strength at Gap, Old Navy; transcript leaks ahead of release: http://stks.co/eMrt Quote http://stks.co/dMku
Despite the awkward way in which the news came out, investors seemed pleased with Gap's sales growth in February.
Shares were briefly halted, until Gap confirmed the strong sales
Gap said sales at stores open at least a year, a metric known as same store sales, rose 3% in February, after accounting for changes in the company's fiscal year. That's better than the 2% most analysts were expecting. Net sales rose 11% in the month.
retail_guru
Most retailers on script saying Feb ended much stronger than began due to less weather, payroll check issues $COST $LTD $WMT $GPS
Good point. Investors have been concerned that retail sales could lose momentum as higher payroll taxes start to hit consumer spending. But, overall same store sales were slightly better than expected in February.
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Economy IS improving. Don't mess it up, Congress!
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Paul R. La Monica. Other than Time Warner, the parent of CNNMoney, and Abbott Laboratories, La Monica does not own positions in any individual stocks.
The U.S. economy has been slogging along at a sluggish pace for several years. I've been referring to the post-Great Recession period as the barbecue recovery since 2010. It's been low and slow.
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