By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com -- Urban Outfitters Inc (NASDAQ:URBN) reported its first-quarter earnings after the close Tuesday, with inflation impacting revenue, and earnings per share falling below consensus expectations.
However, the stock surged 10.34% on Wednesday, with comparable sales increasing 11%.
The retail store posted net sales increased 13.4% to a record $1.05 billion from a year ago. Although, net sales fell short of the $1.07 billion forecasts.
Earnings per share also fell shy, coming in at $0.33 compared to analysts' predictions of $0.42. Furthermore, gross profit grew 7.5% to $323.3 million despite the increased cost of sales due to inflation.
"We are pleased to announce record Q1 sales driven by an 11% Retail segment 'comp,'" said Richard Hayne, Urban Outfitters Chief Executive Officer. "Unfortunately, the impact of inflation on our costs of doing business more than offset the benefit of record revenues."
The company opened five new retail locations and closed three during the first quarter.
Following its release, Urban Outfitters' price target was cut by numerous analysts, including Citi Bank, which lowered its price target to $27 from $30, and Wells Fargo, which reduced its price target to $20 from $28.