Abercrombie & Fitch's Stock Surges In Face Of Broad Market Selloff

Abercrombie & Fitch Co.'s stock was one of the few bright spots in a dreary market Monday, as it surged 4.9% in afternoon trade after Piper Jaffray upgraded the apparel retailer. Analyst Neely Tamminga raised her rating to overweight, after being at neutral since Oct. 6, and bumped up her stock price target to $27 from $25. Tamminga said she believes the stock could rally when the company (ANF) reports fiscal second-quarter results ahead of Wednesday's open, because her research suggests the denim business has improved while overall promotional activity has been lower than last year (LY). "ANF is getting its house in order at a time when denim is cycling back to the forefront and offering consumers innovation in fashion," Tamminga wrote in a note to clients. "Our store checks point to ANF denim prices at or above LY--giving us confidence that ANF is seeing appropriate sell-throughs in its fall assortments." The stock's rally Monday comes in the face of a 4.6% tumble in the S&P 500 and a 3.7% slide in the SPDR S&P Retail ETF .