clothing

The move came after the teen retailer said sales at its stores rose in March, beating analysts' expectations. The consensus was for a small decline.

Buckle Inc. (BKE) is struggling early with shares down 3.1% after KeyBanc Capital Markets downgraded the teen retailer's stock to "hold" from "buy."

The bank sees 2012 EPS of $2.87 and 2013 EPS of $4.75.

Citigroup raised its price target for Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) to $76 from $66 and maintained its buy rating on the stock.

The bank cited ANF's aggressive international growth plans, better product, promotions, and an ability to pass along price increases globally.

Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch are trading up 2.93% at $67.49.

UBS increased its target price for Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) to $68 from $59 and maintained its neutral rating on the company.

The bank raised its Q1 EPS estimate to $0.26 from $0.25, vs. the consensus estimate for $0.25 per share, based on continued momentum at Chico's and WHBM in March.

Chico's FAS is currently above its 50-day moving average (MA) of $12.86 and above its 200-day of $11.01.

UBS raised its target price for Chico's FAS (NYSE:CHS) to $15 from $12 and maintained its neutral rating on the company.

In consumer sector ETFs, the SPDR S&P Retail (XRT) is up 1.0%.

In mid-day news, shares of American Apparel are down after the Los Angeles-based clothing company said the shortfall in its cash may force it to seek bankruptcy protection, Bloomberg reported.

Two American Apparel board members from lender Lion Capital resigned to evaluate the investment, the report said, citing a regulatory filing.

American Apparel shares are down 15.9%, or $0.15, to $0.81.

Consumer shares are higher in mid-day trading,while American Apparel (APP) may have to file for bankruptcy protection.

The clothing company reported a Q4 adjusted loss of $0.14 compared to income of $0.13 a year earlier but better than the Thomson Reuters mean analyst estimate for a loss of $0.18.

Sales fell 7.4% to $292.6 million. The Street was at $294.5 million.

The Talbots, Inc. (TLB) is up 23.96% to $5.95 in mid-morning trade.

Consumer shares are higher in mid-day trading, while Kimberly-Clark Corp. (KMB) is up near 1%, although selling has moved it off its early high of $63.96. This comes after announcing this morning that it is raising prices on a ran

Full year earnings came in at $2.49 per diluted share compared with $2.27 last year. Net sales in 2010 increased 8% to $2.4 billion, while same store sales were also up by 1% compared to a 10% increase last year.

Thomas P.

Aeropostale (NYSE:ARO) reported Q4 earnings Thursday afternoon, posting an EPS of $0.98, which beat the analyst consensus of $0.97 by a penny. Net sales in the quarter rose 5% year-over-year to $839.3 million. Same store sales fel

Glen T.

Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) reported Q4 EPS of $0.45, missing consensus estimates of $0.52 per share. Revenues for the quarter rose 14% year-over-year to $668.4 million, missing consensus estimates of $674.9 million.