Costco price target lowered to $545 from $565 at Loop Capital

Loop Capital analyst Laura Champine lowered the firm’s price target on Costco to $545 from $565 after its Q1 earnings miss but keeps a Buy rating on the shares. A more conservative approach to sales and gross margin estimates is appropriate given inflation, and while Costco’s member fee income, MFI, grew 6% on 3% store growth, she was anticipating 11% growth, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Champine maintains however that Costco’s long-term growth and stability in MFI deserve "modestly higher multiples".