Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF, $53.62, up $32.36) and Kohl’s (KSS, $48.85, up $1.26) have been all over the map this week as both companies prepare to announce earnings over the next 24 hours. Kohl’s will announce after the bell today, ANF before the bell Friday.

ANF has been trading between $50 and $55 all week and Kohl’s started the week at $51 and has traded as low as $46 (told you I didn’t trust Kohl’s). The volatility shows the 10% swings both stcoks can make so as I mentioned Monday, there’s no compelling reason to try and trade the retailers right now.

Wal-Mart Stores (WMT, $58.74, up $0.86) beat estimates by two cents today but issued the “cautious” word again. The stock is right where it started the week and Wall Street has once again kept Wal-Mart under $60.

JCPenney (JCP, $37.68, up $2.16) also reports before the bell Friday.

Rick Rouse
Rick@OptionsMentoring.com

Here’s a look at some of the companies that will reporting earnings this week:

Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF, $54.11, up $3.73) announces earnings Friday. The stock fell nearly 10% when the company said same-store sales were down 7% last week. The stock rebounded on Monday after hitting a low of $48.21 on Friday. The August 55 calls (ANFHK, $1.55, up $1.10) were up 244% yesterday. This 55 strike price could be the battle line between the bulls and bears and the options expire this Friday. Too risky to join that trade battle.

JCPenney (JCP, $37.50, up $1.75) is scheduled to report earnings on Friday. The company also announced weaker-than-expected July sales but raised its quarterly earnings guidance on Thursday. JC now expects earnings of $0.50-$0.52 a share, versus its previous guidance of $0.38 a share. The August 40 calls (JCPHH, $0.45, up $0.30) traded over 8,000 contracts yesterday. Maybe there was a lot of selling of these calls because I don’t think JC has the energy to make a push to $40.

Kohl’s (KSS, $51.00, up $4.13) is expected to report earnings on Thursday. Yesterday’s 9% move was impressive. A favorite back-to-school play every year around this time. I’ve never trusted Kohl’s when it comes to predicting their earnings and I have no reason to start. I just hate the way this stock trades.

Macy’s (M, $21.65, up $0.92) reports Wednesday before the bell. The company did not give a 2Q outlook but Wall Street is looking for $0.19 a share on revenues of $5.8 billion. I’ve never followed Macy’s and don’t plan to start now.

TJX Companies (TJX, $37.00, up $0.13) will announce earnings this morning before the bell. The retailer recently raised its 2Q guidance to $0.46-$0.47 a share. TJX said July same-store sales were up 3%. The stock actually set a 52-week high of $37.52 on Monday.

Wal-Mart Stores (WMT, $58.56, up $0.70) reports earnings on Thursday. Wall Street is expecting a profit of $0.83 a share on sales of $102 billion. I’ve mentioned Wal-Mart numerous times here and how it always has trouble holding $60. The stock hit a 52-week high of $61 last Wednesday and quickly gave back those gains by the end of the week. The August 60 calls (WMTHL, $0.33, up $0.11) were heavily traded yesterday and if the stock can make another push above $60, these calls should do well. Be careful though, the $60 mark is acting like quicksand and the trade should be closed before Thursday.

Rick Rouse
Rick@OptionsMentoring.com