After a month of recovery, and then a couple of days of losses, investors are looking for some stability in the market. While some industries are known for their defense qualities, one major Wall Street investment house thinks that it has found a few stocks that can stand up to headwinds and still fetch a solid return.
Goldman Sachs has issued a few calls with a focus on the retail industry. Each call is moderately positive, forecasting sizable upside in both the near and long term.
Brooke Roach was the lead analyst on the call and noted that the outlook for the apparel sector continues to weaken but the off-price sector is “defensively positioned.” Coming off an especially strong July, investors are at the moment unsure of whether a recovery is underway or if they should be defensively positioned going forward.
It is important to remember that no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision.
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Burlington Stores
Goldman Sachs started coverage of Burlington Stores Inc. (NYSE: BURL) with a Buy rating and a $183 price target, which implies upside of 22% from the most recent closing price of $150.17. Ultimately, Roach sees strategic merit in Burlington’s transformation, driven by a better-resourced buying environment and improvements to the store fleet. She concluded that Burlington has near-term execution risk given a larger store size and higher inventory levels, but this is largely reflected in the stock’s valuation and estimates.
Burlington Stores stock has a 52-week trading range of $133.28 to $357.34, and it traded near $151 a share on Tuesday. The stock is down 49% year to date.
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Ross Stores
Goldman Sachs initiated coverage Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST | ROST Price Prediction) with a Buy rating and a $102 price target. That implies upside of 24% from the most recent closing price of $82.30. Overall, Roach sees opportunities for Ross to gain market share as it increasingly benefits from trade-down among its core lower-income consumer following “initial demand shocks.”
Ross Stores stock traded at around $82 early on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $69.24 to $127.34. Shares are down roughly 30% year to date.
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TJX Companies
On TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX), Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $70 price target. That still implies upside of 12% from the most recent closing price of $62.65. She believes that TJX will continue to deliver stronger comps versus peers, considering its higher-income consumer offering, but she says this is well-understood by investors.
The stock traded at around $62 on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $53.69 to $77.35. Shares are actually up over 19% year to date.
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