The shares of Guess (GES: scorecard, quote, chart) are up more than 5% this morning following positive comments from a Lazard Capital Markets analyst, who initiated coverage on the trendy retailer with a "buy" rating. The analyst believes the company is likely to report a positive second quarter. Analyst Todd Slater said in a note to investors that he expects the company to beat analyst expectations for the quarter and could report same-store sales growth 8% to 10% above the industry average. According to Thomson Financial, the company is slated to report earnings of 49 cents per share when it releases its results on Wednesday, September 3.

The shares have shot more than 5% higher this morning and are currently struggling with the 40 level. This area has capped the shares on a closing basis since late June. However, in one positive development, we find that GES has moved above its 10-month trendline a moving average it has not closed a month above since November 2007.

Overall, sentiment is extremely optimistic when it comes to this retailer. Zacks reports that 5 of the 6 analysts following the firm rate it a "buy" or better. Meanwhile, the Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio for GES is just 1 percentage point away from a new annual low.