Sears Holdings Corp.'s (SHLD) share price has surged more than 15% in morning trade after the company reported a surprise first-quarter profit yesterday evening.

The owner of Kmart discount stores posted adjusted earnings of 38 cents per share against the consensus estimate calling for a loss of 88 cents.

The Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based company's sales fell 9% to $10.1 billion, while same-store sales declined 7.4%.

"In this challenging economic environment we are pleased with the progress we have made in improving our gross margin rate, controlling inventories and further reducing our cost structure," said interim CEO W. Bruce Johnson.

The consensus estimate on the company's full-year earnings has moved down by 18 cents over the past 60 days to 34 cents per share.

Shares of Sears Holdings, a Zacks #3 Rank ("Hold") company, were trading on higher-than-usual volume of approximately 3.3 million, compared to average daily