Christine Chen, Needham & Company

Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN) - Christine Chen at Needham & Company

Analysts Christine Chen and Paula Torch at Needham have maintained a Strong Buy rating for Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN). Analysts have raised the price target for the Urban Outfitters, Inc, stock from $39 to $45. . The price target has been raised after the company reported strong results for the fourth quarter. The company reported EPS of $0.45 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate by $0.04, and analysts' estimate by $0.05. The company registered an increase of 4% in same store sales 

Coach, Inc. (COH) - Christine Chen at Needham & Company

There are no blaring signs in store windows drawing attention to these lower prices, no advertisements highlighting value merchandise Instead, Coach's plan has been for consumers get a pleasant surprise when they pick up a bag they expect to be $500 and it is only $200 This Poppy line, which features handbags ranging from about $200 to $300, received an overwhelming reception and provided a much needed boost during the holiday season In fact, Coach's second quarter 32% gain in North America same store sales (its first positive comparable sales number in over a year) is attributable, in large part, to the Poppy line "Coach has one of the best management teams out there," Needham analyst Christine Chen says 

Abercrombie & Fitch Company (ANF) - Christine Chen at Needham & Company

It has since experimented with lowering some of its prices Abercrombie's average unit retail price was down roughly 145% during the holiday season, according to Christine Chen, a retail analyst with brokers Needham & Co But even with lower prices and more promotions, including a gift card giveaway, Abercrombie posted steep sales declines during the holidays 

Aeropostale, Inc. (ARO) - Christine Chen at Needham & Company

According to the investment firm Needham & Co, online sales consisted of just 5% to 10% of the total sales recorded by teen retailers in December Needham analyst Christine Chen singled out Aeropostale as a star December performer The company posted same store sales growth of 10% for the month, beating analysts' estimates of 31%, despite being up against tougher year over year comparisons than other retailers Given those December results, Chen said Aeropostale is looking at earnings growth of 32% to 33% for its fourth quarter The analyst also was impressed by Zumiez , which managed to increase its December same store sales by 03%, much better than the dropoff that analysts had been anticipating 

Guess?, Inc. (GES) - Christine Chen at Needham & Company

"As I look ahead to 2010, I tend to favor the stocks that have some sort of special product or special environment that gives the consumer a reason to buy," said Needham & Co analyst Christine Chen Urban Outfitters and Guess Inc  are among those offering compelling products and value to their shoppers, said Chen, who has "strong buy" ratings on both The Standard & Poor's Retail Index was down 06 percent on Wednesday It is still up more than 86 percent off its year low, touched in March (Editing by Michele Gershberg and Matthew Lewis) 

Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN) - Christine Chen at Needham & Company

"As I look ahead to 2010, I tend to favor the stocks that have some sort of special product or special environment that gives the consumer a reason to buy," said Needham & Co analyst Christine Chen Urban Outfitters and Guess Inc  are among those offering compelling products and value to their shoppers, said Chen, who has "strong buy" ratings on both The Standard & Poor's Retail Index was down 06 percent on Wednesday It is still up more than 86 percent off its year low, touched in March (Editing by Michele Gershberg and Matthew Lewis) 

Mastercard Incorporated (MA) - Christine Chen at Needham & Company

"I look at bits and pieces of all the data and try to piece together the puzzle, as opposed to looking at one set of data and saying 'OK, there it is, there's the Holy Grail'" SpendingPulse, a unit of MasterCard Advisers, said on Monday that sales rose 36% from through Christmas Eve, or 1% excluding the extra day between Thanksgiving and Christmas SpendingPulse relies on data from the MasterCard payments network and estimates for use of cash and other payment forms It excludes automobile and gasoline sales Needham & Co analyst Christine Chen said one could read into the results to find glimmers of hope "Things have bottomed 

Guess?, Inc. (GES) - Christine Chen at Needham & Company

"As I look ahead to 2010, I tend to favor the stocks that have some sort of special product or special environment that gives the consumer a reason to buy," said Needham & Co analyst Christine Chen Urban Outfitters and Guess Inc are among those offering compelling products and value to their shoppers, said Chen, who has "strong buy" ratings on both The Standard & Poor's Retail Index was down 06 percent on Wednesday It is still up more than 86 percent off its year low, touched in March 

Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN) - Christine Chen at Needham & Company

"As I look ahead to 2010, I tend to favor the stocks that have some sort of special product or special environment that gives the consumer a reason to buy," said Needham & Co analyst Christine Chen Urban Outfitters and Guess Inc are among those offering compelling products and value to their shoppers, said Chen, who has "strong buy" ratings on both The Standard & Poor's Retail Index was down 06 percent on Wednesday It is still up more than 86 percent off its year low, touched in March 

National Retail Federation Inc - Christine Chen at Needham & Company

ANNUAL GAME OF CHICKEN UNDERWAY Budget oriented shoppers are playing their typical game of chicken with retailers, waiting for steeper discounts from stores than the 30 percent to 50 percent off already on offer US shoppers still had more than half of their holiday gift buying to do, the highest percentage since 2004, according to a survey from the National Retail Federation conducted through While discounts abound and some have gotten steeper over time, Needham & Co analyst Christine Chen does not think shoppers have much to gain by pushing things closer to the Christmas deadline for buying gifts "The promotional cadence has not accelerated dramatically from Black Friday," said Chen, who added that existing discounts could move 10 percent or so in either direction "I don't think they're going to get significantly deeper over the weekend because there's just not very much inventory You're not going to see things go to the 70 to 80 (percent off) like they were pretty much all quarter last year" 

Gap Inc. (GPS) - Christine Chen at Needham & Company

The sale ends this Sunday. Old Navy is selling jeans at just $15 for adults and $10 for kids. Tops are going for as low as $5. All outerwear is now 50% off. Many retailers are offering "buy one get one 50% off" on tops, says Christine Chen, a retail analyst at Needham & Co. Macy's is offering 40% discounts on coffee, tea and espresso makers and 20% off on men and women's apparel.