Stitch Fix soars 53% on surprise profit and accelerated customer growth amid the pandemic

High short interest of 38% as a percentage of Stitch Fix's float could be adding fuel to today's gains.

• Stitch Fix soared 53% on Tuesday after the apparel matching subscription service recorded a surprise profit in its first quarter earnings.
• Stitch Fix saw accelerated customer growth amid the pandemic and announced strong guidance that surpassed analyst estimates.
• High short interest of 38% as a percentage of Stitch Fix's float could be adding fuel to Tuesday's gains.
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Stitch Fix rocketed higher by as much as 53% on Tuesday after the apparel matching subscription service delivered a surprise profit in its first quarter earnings.

The clothing style company said it saw an acceleration in new customers amid the pandemic, and announced strong guidance that surpassed analyst estimates.

Here are the key numbers:

First Quarter GAAP EPS: $0.09 versus analyst estimates of -$0.17
First Quarter Revenue: $490.42 million versus analyst estimates of $481.1 million
Active Clients: 3.8 million versus analyst estimates of 3.65 million

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Stitch Fix expects full-year revenue of $2.05 billion to $2.14 billion, well ahead of analyst estimates of $2.01 billion.

"We're excited about the momentum in our business, confident in the future ahead, and we expect to deliver between 20% and 25% growth for the full year," CEO Katrina Lake said.

The company added Dan Jedda as its new CFO, joining the company from Amazon where we was Vice President and CFO for Digital Video, Digital Music, and the Advertising and Corporate Development division.

Tuesday's surge propelled Stitch Fix to an all-time-high. The company went public in November 2017. 

Potentially adding fuel to Tuesday's move higher could be short investors buying back the stock to close out their losing bets. Stitch Fix has a high short interest as a percent of overall float of 38%, according to data from S3 Partners.