Wedbush Securities Reiterates Neutral, Raises PT On Zumiez As Guidance Should Prove Beatable

In a report published Friday, Wedbush Securities analyst Morry Brown reiterated a Neutral rating on

, and raised the price target from $37.00 to $38.00. In the report, Wedbush Securities noted, "ZUMZ's 1Q15 outlook fell just shy of consensus expectations, as management guided to a range of $0.11-$0.13 (ex-items) versus consensus of $0.14 (and WS at $0.16). Guidance assumes a +3-4% comp increase for the quarter. Similar to 4Q14's initial guide, this is noticeably below February's +6.9% run rate. Executives called out recent softness in non-peak selling periods (also similar to commentary last quarter, which did not hold the company back from beating initial guidance by more $0.06). We understand the caution, but we believe the 1Q setup looks conservative and maintain our $0.16 1Q EPS estimate. If shares trade down in any meaningful way in response to the guide, we believe there could be a trading opportunity ahead of March sales. That said, we remain NEUTRAL rated, as we believe the stock is fairly valued based on longer-term earnings." Zumiez closed on Thursday at $39.96.