Target shares gain for a third session in a row on Thursday, company revises up same-store sales forecast

The latest forecast by Target Corporation (TGT) reportedly points to an increase in sales for the first time in five quarters due to higher customer traffic and improved sales trends.

Target shares closed higher for a third consecutive trading session on Thursday. It has also been the sharpest daily surge since November 16th 2016. The stock went up 4.80% ($2.44) to $53.31, after touching an intraday high at $53.71, or a price level not seen since June 15th ($57.75). In the week ended on July 9th the shares of the general merchandise retailer lost 2.33% of their market value compared to a week ago, which marked the third drop in the past four weeks. The stock has neutralized earlier losses and is now up 1.95% so far during the current month, following a 5.19% slump in June. The latter has been a second consecutive month of decline. For the entire past year, Target Corporations shares fell 0.52%.

According to a July 13th statement by Target Corp, second-quarter same-store sales may register a “modest” increase. In comparison, Targets prior forecast had pointed to a low single-digit drop.

Meanwhile, the company now projects that second-quarter earnings per share to be above its forecast range of $0.95-$1.15, facilitated by a net tax effect in relation with its global sourcing operations.

“A return to positive comps in the second quarter after four quarters of declines is clearly a good sign”, Quo Vadis Capital analyst John Zolidis said in a note, cited by Reuters. “At a minimum, it indicates that traditional retailers are not following a straight line directly to irrelevance.”

According to CNN Money, the 23 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Target Corporation’s stock price, have a median target of $57.94, with a high estimate of $77.00 and a low estimate of $44.00. The median estimate is an 8.69% surge compared to the closing price of $53.31 on July 13th.

The same media also reported that 19 out of 27 surveyed investment analysts had rated Target Corporation’s stock as “Hold”, while 2 – as “Buy”. On the other hand, 5 analysts had recommended selling the stock.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, todays levels of importance for the Target stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $53.47
R2 – $53.62
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $53.78
R4 (Long Breakout) – $54.25
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $54.80
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $55.06

S1 – $53.15
S2 – $53.00
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $52.84
S4 (Short Breakout) – $52.37
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $51.82
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $51.56

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Target Corporation (TGT) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $51.65
R1 – $52.60
R2 – $54.14
R3 – $55.09
R4 – $56.05

S1 – $50.11
S2 – $49.16
S3 – $47.62
S4 – $46.09