Target’s Q3 led by freight tailwinds and less shrink, says Roth MKM

Roth MKM keeps a Neutral rating and $140 price target on target after its Q3 results. While the management indicated that the company’s holiday season will be “solid”, it will compete with 2008 as the worst y/y holiday quarter in company history, the analyst tells investors in a research note, stating that inventory is back to 2019 levels but that was a growth environment and “today is not. Q3 earnings beat establishes a profitability floor, but it was also led by freight tailwinds and less theft/shrink, and these are “not operational reasons” that call for excitement, the firm added.