Target’s Rating Slashed to Market Perform at Raymond James

Raymond James revised Target's (NYSE:TGT) rating from Strong Buy to Market Perform. This decision comes in anticipation of Target's Q2/23 earnings report scheduled on August 16. The analysts’ reasoning for this change is based on observations of QTD sales and traffic trends, which have remained sluggish since a decline early in the quarter.

This suggests that Target is experiencing a slowdown in overall revenue growth. Furthermore, there are indications that consumer discretionary spending, especially for Target's product mix, was weak during Q2, which could lead to a more competitive promotional environment and a shift in product mix, thus postponing Target's margin recovery prospects.