** Shares of prison operator CoreCivic Inc soar early Thurs after qtrly results top consensus and it raises outlook, adding to big pop on Weds

** CXW on Weds surged ~29% to close at $17.58 after Donald Trump, who to crack down on illegal immigration, clinched second term in the

White House

** Shares on Thurs last up 19.2% at $20.96 to highest since Jun 2019

** Co late Weds Q3 rev increased 2% y/y to $491.6 mln and adj EPS of 20 cents vs LSEG estimates of $469.8 mln and 9 cents

** CEO Damon Hininger pointed to improved operating margin through expense management and strong demand for essential services, as occupancy rose to 75.2% from 72% a year ago

** Based on current conditions, it expects annual adj EPS of 69-75 cents, up from 58-66 cents, and now sees adj EBITDA of $317-321 mln vs prior outlook of $302.4-$308.4 mln

** Shares of peer Geo Group also rising 10% on Thurs

** Of 4 analyst covering CXW, 1 rates "buy", rest "hold" and median PT is $17 - LSEG

** Including move on the session, shares up ~44% YTD after 26% advance in 2023

(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own) ((lance.tupper@thomsonreuters.com lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))