UPDATE: Imperial Capital Upgrades Aeropostale to Outperform on Margin Stabilization

Imperial Capital raises its rating on Aeropostale

from In-Line to Outperform and raises its price target from $22 to $23. Imperial Capital says, "Aeropostale has made encouraging progress following a difficult 2011 that saw some internal missteps (i.e., fashion misses) and a still challenging macroeconomic environment. We believe the turnaround story could begin to play out more fully in the back half of the year as merchandise improvements take hold and product cost pressures ease. With over 20% potential upside to our new target price, we are upgrading our rating to Outperform. We continue to believe that Aeropostale is a strong brand with healthy growth opportunity over the long term, including the roll-out of its P.S. from Aeropostale concept." ARO closed at $18.72 on Tuesday.