Target downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Bernstein

Bernstein downgraded Target (TGT) to Underperform from Market Perform with a price target of $82, down from $97. The firm says “the going is getting tough for Target.” Credit card data “paints a bleak picture” for the company’s Q1, dampened by poor weather, weak consumer sentiment, and a DEI-related strike in March, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Bernstein believes this is all before tariffs “enter the frame,” which means that Target will likely have to lower guidance for the full year. It thinks Target faces a difficult trade off between stimulating sales growth and maintaining margins. The firm’s analysis shows that it is “unlikely to achieve both and, increasingly, neither.”