Hot Topic Inc. (HOTT), a shopping mall-based specialty retailer, reported fiscal 2009 fourth quarter earnings of $8.0 million or $0.18 per share, compared to $14.2 million or $0.32 in the year-earlier quarter.

For fiscal 2009, the company reported a net income of $11.9 million or $0.27 per share compared to $19.7 million or $0.45 in the previous fiscal. While the quarterly earnings were in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate, the fiscal earnings missed the same by a penny.   Total net sales during the quarter decreased 10.0% to $214.2 million from $238.0 million in the year-ago quarter. Net sales in the Hot Topic segment fell 12.4% year-over-year, and increased 1.7% in the Torrid segment during the quarter.

For fiscal 2009, Hot Topic reported net sales of $736.7 million – a decrease of 3.2% year-over-year. While net sales in the namesake segment declined 4.5% during the fiscal, net sales in

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Hot Topic Inc. (HOTT) – a shopping mall-based specialty retailer operating the Hot Topic and Torrid store concepts across the U.S. as well as the e-space music discovery concept ShockHound – reported a 7% decrease in February 2010 same-store sales, compared to a 10.8% increase in the year-ago period.   Total net sales during the month decreased 5.3% to $54.2 million, compared to the previous year. Net sales in the Hot Topic segment fell 10.2% year over year, and increased 10.4% in the Torrid segment during the month.   Comp sales decreased 11.2% in the Hot Topic segment during the month, compared to the year-earlier period. Hot Topic’s namesake stores sell a selection of music/pop culture-licensed and music/pop culture-influenced apparel, accessories, music and gift items, primarily targeted towards the age group of 12 to 22.   Comp sales increased 8.5% in the Torrid segment for the four-week period ...

First-quarter earnings season nears an end with Hewlett-Packard (

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Highlights include Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT), Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF), Aeropostale, Inc. (ARO), Macy's, Inc. (M), down 9% vs. down 8% and Hot Topic, Inc. (HOTT).April retail sales were better than expected, with about 60% of retailers beating forecasts. That is an improvement from March, when about half of the retailers beat forecasts.Our sample of 20 retailers reported that April sales increased 1.7%, including Wal-Mart (WMT), but decreased 2.6% excluding Wal-Mart. Among those retailers beating forecasts were Wal-Mart, up 4% vs. expectations of up 3%, Abercrombie (ANF), down 22% vs. down 28%, and Aeropostale (ARO), up 20% vs. up 9%. Those retailers that fell short were Macy's (M), down 9% vs. down 8% and Hot Topic (HOTT), up 3% vs. up 7%.Retail sales have stabilized from the awful 2008 holiday season, but overall ...

The Zacks Rank Buys featured in this article are: Hot Topic, Inc. ( ( Hot Topic, Inc. is a rapidly growing, mall-based specialty retailer of music-licensed and music-influenced apparel, accessories and gift items for young men and women principally between the ages of 12 and 22. The company believes teenagers throughout the United States have similar fashion preferences, largely as a result of the nationwide influence of MTV, music distribution, movies, television programs and fashion magazines.

Net Income Up 19%

Hot Topic reported fourth-quarter results on March 11th that included

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A.F. analysts clash… can the niche retailer survive the credit crunch?…Crisis begets steadfast citizens… Americans move about the country at lowest rate in 47 years…A long-term outlook on the American stock market…The latest sector to catch Chris Mayer’s attention…U.K. launches historic spending spree, hikes taxes to 50%..

If the credit-strapped suburban mall culture is truly on the rocks, how long do you think this can survive:

Lady Amaranth, Goth Temptress

Among our analysts, a debate brews at the heart of the current consumer conundrum: “Cutting-edge apparel retailer Hot Topic,” writes Wayne Burritt, about the purveyor of goth clothing and lip-piercing paraphernalia, “is loaded with attractive fundamentals and technicals, while its call options offer an oversized premium. Hot Topic is a mall and Web-based specialty retailer that has a proven track record in the often-fickle teen

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - April 7, 2009 - Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Valero Energy (VLO), PartnerRe Ltd. (PRE), Dendreon Corp. (DNDN), Dell Inc. (DELL) and Hot Topic Inc. (HOTT).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=4579.

Here are highlights from Monday's Analyst Blog:

VLO Entering the Ethanol Business

Valero Energy (VLO), the largest North American refiner, has entered the ethanol business in a big way by acquiring the eight (8) ethanol plants of the bankrupt VeraSun Energy in a bankruptcy court auction. (VeraSun Energy went bankrupt

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We are downgrading Hot Topic Inc. (HOTT) shares from Buy to Hold. The stock has ripped 33% higher in the last four weeks, outperforming the rest of the market during the explosive rally off the March lows.After a strong run, it makes sense to take profits in the name. What's more, we think Hot Topic's valuation may be a little stretched. While we continue to expect the retailer to report strong results, those expectations are now reflected in HOTT shares.The stock is trading at about 21x our fiscal year 2009 EPS. That leaves little room for error in Hot Topic's future results. Our six-month target price goes from $11 to $12.50, or about 22x our fiscal 2009 EPS estimate. Read the full analyst report on "HOTT"Zacks Investment Research

Aeropostale, Inc. (

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Highlights include Wal-Mart, Inc. (WMT), Hot Topic, Inc. (HOTT), The Buckle, Inc. (BKE), J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP) and Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF).This morning, retailers reported same-store sales for the month of February. Sales were decent compared to low expectations, but overall retail sales trends remain weak.The big winner was Wal-Mart, Inc. (WMT) sales were up 8.1% year-on-year and comp-store sales increased 5.0%. It remains a price leader, and its stores continue to attract more shoppers looking for value. The company also noted that lower gasoline prices helped boost its results, as consumers had more discretionary income to spend inside the stores.A couple of specialty retailers that stood out include Hot Topic (HOTT) up 10.8% and Buckle (BKE) up 21.0%. Both of those stores have nice individual stories that do not translate to other ...