J.Crew Stock Upgraded to "Hold" :)

The following is an article found on Business Week Online (click here for the link):

Analyst upgrades J. Crew as sales seen improving

NEW YORK | July 7, 2008

An analyst on Thursday upgraded J. Crew Group Inc. to "Hold" from "Sell" and said the apparel retailer has likely issued overly cautious second-quarter guidance. Since its first-quarter earning report on May 29, shares have fallen 32 percent, partly due to a disappointing second-quarter outlook.

However, Citi Investment Research analyst Kimberly Greenberger said there is upside potential to the guidance."We believe management's guidance is overly cautious and the second quarter is likely running inline to slightly better than expected," Greenberger wrote in a note to investors.

June sales likely improved from April and May, she added. "If improving June sales continues into July, we believe there could be upside to management's cautious second-quarter earnings per share guidance," she wrote.

She upgraded the New York company to "Hold" from "Sell." Shares rose 58 cents to $32.67 during midday trading.

This article paints a positive outlook for J.Crew's immediate future (and as a stock holder, I am thrilled about that!) However, I have to wonder if the recent (and unforeseen) system upgrade/ website fiasco is going to impact J.Crew's sales enough to hurt their stock price...