Christopher & Banks Up 13% on Q1

Shares of Christopher & Banks Corp. (CBK - Snapshot Report) surged 13% after announcing a surprise fiscal first-quarter profit, despite lackluster sales.

The retailer of women's apparel posted earnings of 5 cents per share, compared to the consensus estimate for a loss of 5 cents. The company reported earnings of 32 cents per share a year ago.

Revenue slipped 23% to $120.4 million, while same-store sales fell 24% as consumers continued to cut back on non-essential spending amid the economic downturn.

Going forward, the company anticipates a challenging fiscal second-quarter with similar same-store sales as the first quarter.

Christopher & Banks did not provide an earnings guidance.

The consensus forecast for the fiscal year ending February 2010 has remained constant at a loss of 35 cents per share over the past 2 months. However, the better-than-expected quarterly results could result in positive revisions from analysts over the next several weeks.

CBK, a Zacks #3 Rank ("Hold") stock, is trading on extraordinarily high volume of approximately 701,000, compared to the average daily volume of about 206,000.