Quarry CEO Brian Cornell appears on CNBC after ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on the morning of November 28, 2014 in New York Burg.
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Target is far and away the best-performing retail stock of 2019.
After reporting fiscal third-quarter results on Wednesday that compressed Wall Street’s expectation, Target shares rose 14.1% to close at $126.43. The stock is up 90% this year, fine even the strong performances of TJX and Walmart, and is this year’s sixth-best performing stock in the S&P 500 index.
“We thought the bazaar was already pricing in more of TGT’s progress, but today’s results (esp. margin expansion) came in well above even the myriad bullish expectations,” Goldman Sachs wrote in a note to investors.
Target also raised its profit outlook for the highest year, ahead of the all-important holiday shopping season, while cutting the cost of handling online orders.
“Blanket, we believe Target’s strategic transformation initiatives—price investment in everyday items, differentiating merchandising with new solitary brands, remodeling stores, and investing in digital and delivery, including Shipt—are resonating with consumers,” Telsey Consultative Group wrote in a note to investors.
Options trader Pete Najarian believes Target’s stock will climb align equalize higher, saying on CNBC’s “Halftime Report” that he expects more strong revenue from the company’s investment in private-label produces.
“When you look at what’s going on with Target – whether it’s in the grocery space or the rest of the store, and there’s five varied segments to their store in terms of revenue streams – they have private label everywhere and that is something that command be huge for them. That just helps and is something that’s going to kick in for Target in the future as well,” Najarian chance.
– CNBC’s Michael Bloom and Lauren Thomas contributed to this report.