Target's 0.02% Rally Despite 199th Trading Volume Rank as Bernstein Raises Price Target to $86

Target Corp (TGT) closed Monday with a 0.02% gain, trading at $100.94 as it maintained a market capitalization of $45.79B. The stock ranked 199th in trading volume for the session, with $530 million in shares exchanged. Bernstein SocGen Group upgraded its price target to $86 from $80 while keeping the Underperform rating, citing potential sales outperformance and short-term catalysts from management changes. Analysts noted the Nintendo Switch 2 launch could drive near-term momentum despite margin pressures.

The company announced a 1.8% quarterly dividend increase to $1.14 per share, payable in September. However, Fitch Ratings downgraded its outlook to Negative from Stable, citing operational challenges and projected EBITDA declines exceeding 10% in 2025. Target is testing a direct-to-consumer delivery model to expand low-cost offerings, mirroring strategies from Chinese e-commerce platforms. This follows recent margin concerns linked to inventory shrinkage recovery challenges.

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