Shares of specialty craft goods retailer JOANN (NASDAQ: JOAN) rose a quick 16% as trading got underway on Friday. Investors were clearly pleased with the company's earnings update, which was released after the market closed on Thursday. It was the retailer's second quarterly report since its March IPO , and that factor adds some complications here.
Private-equity firm Leonard Green & Partners took JOANN private about a decade ago, but early this year, the firm decided to return the niche retailer to the public markets. Given the pandemic, this might seem like a bad time to undertake such a move. However, crafts and craft supplies have been in high demand as the coronavirus kept people at home more than normal. Notably, the company's full-year fiscal 2021 sales were up 23% year over year when it reported them on April 1, just a few weeks after its IPO. While that was a nice result to see, JOANN's fiscal year ends in January, so it wasn't a public company through any of that period. But, as Thursday's earnings update showed, the strength carried over into the first quarter of its fiscal 2022, when revenues rose by 15% year over year.
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Why JOANN Stock Rallied as Much as 16% in Early Trading Today