IBM shares close lower on Friday, US retail industry to register almost 5% growth this year, IBM projects

IBM projects that US retail industry may register a 4.83% growth during this years holiday shopping season. That compares with a 4.2% holiday sales growth in 2017.

IBM shares closed lower for the sixth time in the past ten trading sessions in New York on Friday. The stock went down 1.16% ($1.38) to $117.19, after touching an intraday low at $116.95, or a price level not seen since November 20th ($116.70).

Shares of International Business Machines have retreated 23.61% so far in 2018 compared with a 1.54% drop for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2017, IBM’s stock fell 7.57%, thus, it again underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 19.42% return.

Among all product categories, sales of consumer appliances are to register the most notable annual growth this holiday season, or 15.2%. IBM said it also expected strong performance in categories such as Jewelry (a 5.2% growth) and Apparel (a 12.7% growth in sales of mens clothing and a 4.3% growth in sales of womens clothing).

According to IBM, shoppers choice what to purchase and when to purchase it will be affected by weather conditions. As an example, milder weather in November will bolster demand for items such as toys or electronics, while demand for items such as cold-weather apparel or snowblowers will be lower.

“The retail industry is extremely dynamic and a host of powerful factors such as the economy, fast-moving market trends and consumer confidence all come into play,” Michael Haydock, IBM Fellow, VP & Chief Scientist with IBM Global Business Services, said in a statement.

“The interplay of machine learning augmenting human customer service is the winning combination to help the retail industry better serve the consumer. Uncovering and leveraging patterns that are not obvious make the retail experience both fun and advantageous for the consumer. It makes every experience feel like it was composed just for them,” Haydock added.

According to CNN Money, the 18 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding IBM’s stock price, have a median target of $156.50, with a high estimate of $200.00 and a low estimate of $125.00. The median estimate represents a 33.54% upside compared to the closing price of $117.19 on November 23rd.

The same media also reported that 11 out of 22 surveyed investment analysts had rated IBM’s stock as “Hold”, while 6 – as “Buy”. On the other hand, 3 analysts had recommended selling the stock.

Weekly Pivot Levels

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for International Business Machines (IBM) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $118.69
R1 – $120.68
R2 – $124.17
R3 – $126.16
R4 – $128.15

S1 – $115.20
S2 – $113.21
S3 – $109.72
S4 – $106.23