Gordon Haskett downgrades Target on ‘meaningfully eroded’ traffic

Gordon Haskett analyst Chuck Grom downgraded Target to Hold from Buy with a $132 price target. Target’s traffic levels have “meaningfully eroded over the past two months after a long stretch of very strong results,” Grom tells investors in a research note. Further, with 75% of Target’s mix more discretionary in nature, the company will continue to face headwinds for much of 2023, adds the analyst. Grom says he continues to collect more evidence of middle-income trade down across the retail space. He is “incrementally more concerned” that Target could see more give back on its “massive market share gains since 2020.”