Ascena Retail Group Inc (NASDAQ:ASNA)
Ascena Retail Group, Inc. (ASNA), a specialty retailer of apparel company yesterday reported their fiscal second quarter 2017 financial results. Ascena reported second quarter adjusted earnings of a loss of $0.07 per share which beat analyst expectations of a loss of $0.10 per share. Ascena reported second quarter revenues of $1.75 billion which is exactly what analysts were expecting.
Ascena Retail Group, Inc. CEO’s Comments
David Jaffe, President and Chief Executive Officer of ascena retail group, inc., commented, “Reflecting on our second quarter results, we saw a continuation of trends that have been in place for some time. While we remain generally pleased with selling performance during peaks, our base business remained soft due to ongoing store traffic headwinds and overall customer price sensitivity, which have become persistent issues impacting our larger sector. While our second quarter comp sales were in line with our guidance, we were forced to be much more promotional than planned to achieve this level of performance.”
Jaffe concluded, “As I reflect on our strategic position, we continue to see the disruptive trend toward ecommerce transactions, and the growing influence of online engagement on traditional brick and mortar activity across our sector. We’ve invested heavily in our omni-channel platform over a multi-year period, and we continue to aggressively evolve our organization to embrace and serve customers in this new retailing paradigm. Yet, there is much more to do. As part of our Change for Growth transformation work, we are developing advanced analytics and customer experience management capabilities that will enhance our opportunities to drive revenue and margin. We continue to aggressively pursue cost structure opportunities, including refinement of our operating model and our ongoing fleet optimization work. We view these initiatives as critical enablers that will allow us to profitably serve our customers in a highly dynamic sector.” Business Wire
ASNA Technical Analysis
ASNA opened trading yesterday at $4.40 which was down from the previous day’s trading close of $4.44. Shares closed trading yesterday at $4.50 and spiked up after market to $4.82, equivalent to a 7% increase from the closing price. Taking a look at the daily chart we can see that the last time ASNA traded above these levels we have to go all the way back to February 27th, when it traded at $5.09.
Taking a closer look at the daily chart we can see that before the spike up ASNA had been in an overall downward trend dating back to December 8th, 2016 when it traded at $8.11. ASNA has a float of 134.39 million shares and traded 1.72 times the normal daily trading volume on Monday.
For trading purposes, I would like to see ASNA open trading on Tuesday above $4.70 and if it does I would be looking to take a long position at the bell. My stop loss would be $0.08 from my entry position fearing anything more than that and the stock would start to fill in the gap up.
Company Profile
Ascena Retail Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty retailer of apparel, shoes, and accessories for women and tween girls in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
The company operates through six segments: ANN, Justice, Lane Bryant, maurices, dressbarn, and Catherines. It creates, designs, and develops a range of merchandise, including apparel, accessories, footwear, and intimates; lifestyle products comprising cosmetics, bedroom furnishings, and electronics; and wear-to-work, casual sportswear, footwear, and social occasion apparel.
The company also offers casual clothing, career wear, dressy apparel, and active wear, as well as special occasion and classic apparel. Its principal brands comprise ANN TAYLOR, LOFT, ANN TAYLOR LOFT, LOU & GREY, JUSTICE, LANE BRYANT, LANE BRYANT OUTLET, CACIQUE, RIGHT FIT, MAURICES, DRESSBARN, CATHERINES, CATHERINES PLUS SIZES, MAGGIE BARNES, LIZ&ME, SERENADA, DRESSBAR, 6th & LANE, and MAURICES IN MOTION.
As of July 30, 2016, the company operated approximately 4,900 stores. It also offers its products through its Websites, including anntaylor.com, LOFT.com, louandgrey.com, shopjustice.com, lanebryant.com, cacique.com, maurices.com, dressbarn.com, and catherines.com.
The company was formerly known as Dress Barn, Inc. and changed its name to Ascena Retail Group, Inc. in January 2011. Ascena Retail Group, Inc. was founded in 1962 and is based in Mahwah, New Jersey.