1-800-Flowers Stock Blooms on Sunny Forecast

Flower delivery service 1-800-Flowers.Com Inc (NASDAQ:FLWS) just raised its full-year revenue and earnings guidance, based on strong e-commerce growth during the first 10 weeks of its fiscal fourth quarter. The firm noted a successful Mother's Day holiday period, and a surge in demand for every-day gift giving. In response, FLWS is up 8.4% at $24.84.

While FLWS did pull back from its May 26 record peak of $25.50 this month, several layers of support at the 40-day moving average and $21 mark helped cushion its fall. The security has been clawing its way back toward its late-May highs since then, trading back near them after looking to eclipse the area before the bell this morning. Plus, in the last three months, FLWS is up 86%. 

While most members of the brokerage bunch have come around to FLWS, there is still one holdout, which could lead to some more equity-boosting upgrades down the road. Of the four in coverage three say "strong buy" while one says "strong sell." Meanwhile, the consensus 12-month price target of $23.71 is a roughly 3% premium to last night's close. 

Short sellers are hitting the exits in droves, with short interest down 42.7% in the last reporting period. There's still plenty of pent-up pessimism that could unwind and push the security higher, though. The 2.13 million shares sold short make up 8.7% of FLWS' available float, and would take a little under three days to cover, at the stock's average daily pace of trading.