Surprised? J.C. Penney Hits Number 2 In Fashion

• Shares of J C Penney Company Inc (NYSE: JCP) continue flirting with the $10 mark – levels it hasn't sustained in nearly a year.
• Neely Tamminga of Piper Jaffray maintained an Overweight rating and $17 price target in a note on Monday.
• The analyst pointed out that J.C. Penney improved its overall rank as a preferred shopping destination from a year ago.

In a report published Monday, Piper Jaffray analyst Neely Tamminga reiterated an Overweight rating and $17 price target on shares of J.C. Penney while reaffirming the stock as "one of our two top picks for 2015."Tamminga's Outperform rating was maintained following a proprietary survey exploring women's shopping behavior and intention. According to the survey's results, J.C. Penney now ranks as the second most preferred shopping destination for fashion, marking an improvement from its number four spot the company held a year ago.Tamminga's survey also asked shoppers to name a store (or brand) from which they are starting to buy from. J.C. Penney ranked fourth highest, marking its best ranking in five years. Moreover, the survey concluded that shoppers who purchased from J.C. Penney in the past six months are "more inclined" to revisit the store for additional purchases in the next three months."Just in the past few weeks, we are observing new product launches of exclusive or private brands at J.C. Penney including Michael Strahan's line of men's suiting as well as a new millennial-focused casual line of clothes called Belle + Sky," Tamminga concluded. "These are recent examples of the company's drive to continually innovate and stay relevant for their customer."