** Shares in Remy Cointreau RCOP.PA rise 5.8% in very wobbly trade as hopes on U.S. trends reversal outshine the below-expectations FY outlook

** Remy's H1 oper profit falls 17.6% LFL, less than feared, but the spirits maker sees worse-than-expected FY organic sales (-15% to -18%), and organic current oper margin of between 21%-22%

** Asked about the wobbly trade, Bernstein analyst Trevor Stirling describes a massive tension between big hit to consensus EPS and optimism that maybe the U.S. sell-out trends are bottoming

** In an investor call, Remy Cointreau's CEO says, however, that it has reached the bottom in the U.S. and it's time to prepare for a recovery, even if the challenges are far from over

** "Looks like the latter is winning," Stirling says

** "Investors need confidence that the earnings downgrade cycle is complete and that mid-term growth prospects both for the cognac category and the business," Jefferies analysts say in a note, adding the long-term story remains attractive

** Up to the previous session's close, the shares lost 50.1%​ YTD

($1 = 0.9490 euros)

(Reporting by Dimitri Rhodes)

((Dimitri.rhodes@thomsonreuters.com))