Jones Apparel Stock Jumps, Polo Falls

New York City, Jones Apparel Group shares rallied today, following a bullish brokerage call that highlighted improving sales and suggested a future windfall after the clothing maker won a legal victory last week in its license dispute with Polo Ralph Lauren Corp.

Earlier this afternoon, investment bank Lazard Freres announced an upgrade of the Jones Apparel rating from “Hold” to “Buy” and increased its price target on the company from $34 to $39. The stock is down 8% so far this year.

Last Thursday Jones received a favorable ruling from an appellate court, which upheld a lower court decision that ruled in favor of Jones in its $550 million breach-of-contract suit against Polo Ralph Lauren. Shares of Polo Ralph Lauren stumbled today, pressured by a downgrade from Prudential, which cited the liability of the Jones lawsuit as a reason for concern about its stock price.