Teen Retail Is on Fire By Gary Morrow About this article: Retail stocks are in rally mode again today. Strong February sales from the teen apparel group have sent a few of these stocks sharply higher. The top performers include Abercrombie & Fitch , up 10%; Pacific Sunwear , up 8%; Hot Topic , 3.5%; and Urban Outfitters , up 2.5%. Mall-based retailer Zumiez , which sells sports-related apparel, is the biggest gainer in the sector. The stock is currently up over 11% after reporting February same-store sales well ahead of analysts expectations. The strong numbers sparked a huge gap higher open that lifted the stock well above last year's peak. Zumiez has backed off a bit from the early-morning 20% pop but is still well above its September/October highs. Short-covering is certainly a major factor in today's ramp as well. Of all the specialty apparel stores, Zumiez has by far the highest short-interest ratio. As of the... To read the rest of this article and sign up for a FREE trial click here...

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