Retail Stocks Forecasts – Walmart, Target, and Costco Consolidate Ahead of Earnings

WMT Technical Analysis

Walmart looks like it is going to be a little bit negative at the open. That’s somewhat mixed action, but really at this point in time, it’s worth noting that the last couple of months have been all about consolidation. There are concerns about the employment situation in the United States, which, ironically, in the past has typically benefited Walmart, being a cheaper place to buy things. So, we’ll have to wait and see whether or not that comes to fruition.

Ultimately, though, we are just simply consolidating between $107.50 on the bottom and the $115 region on the top. We’re basically in the middle of it, so a little bit of back and forth probably makes sense.

TGT Technical Analysis

The market for Target looks like it is going to be ever so slightly negative in pre-market trading, but ultimately, this is a market that’s been consolidating after a gap higher. We are heading towards earnings and the ex-dividend date. So, the ex-dividend date is on the 12th; the earnings are on the 19th. That obviously will have an influence on the price of the stock, but it has been very strong as of late and is getting better. So, it is still a very bullish market.

COST Technical Analysis

Costco looks like it is going to be hanging right underneath where it closed during the session on Friday. And this is a lot like Walmart in the sense that it’s been consolidating in a region here, between, in this case, $900 on the bottom and $980 on the top. We’re basically right around the $945 level, so we’re right around the middle of it. So, it’s more of the same.

That being said, if employment becomes a problem in the United States, Costco becomes an interesting play on that as it is a wholesaler, but Walmart also often will be used for lower-income consumers and, more importantly, higher-income consumers dropping down, at least historically speaking. So, these are stocks I’m watching on a day-to-day basis, if for no other reason than to get a read on what Wall Street thinks about the US consumer.

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