J.C. Penney reported a higher quarterly profit as private-label brands helped margins, and the department store operator raised its full-year earnings forecast.
Shares rose as high as $79.90 .
Earnings increased to $238 million, or $1.04 a share, for Penney's fiscal first quarter, ended May 5, from $210 million, or 89 cents a share, a year earlier.
Analysts on average expected a profit of $1.03 a share.
Sales rose 3.1% to $4.35 billion, below analyst expectations of $4.47 billion. Comparable store sales, a measure of sales at stores open at least a year, rose 2.2%.
Penney, which has been working to shed its dowdy image by offering more fashionable merchandise such as its Ambrielle brand of intimate apparel, kicked off a new branding campaign called "Every Day Matters" earlier this year in hopes of luring new customers and getting current shoppers to spend more money.