The retailer's earnings and revenue bested expectations
Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) stock is higher this morning, after a better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report. The club retailer reported profits of $4.86 per share on revenue of $78.94 billion, both of which beat estimates. Comparable sales, however, rose just 0.2%.
Last seen up 1.6% at $561.85, options traders are all over
Costco stock. In fact, overall options volume is already running at seven times the intraday average today. Positions are opening at the weekly 9/29 570-strike call, which is the most popular contract today.
COST is also enjoying no fewer than seven price-target hikes that followed this quarterly win. TD Cowen raised its target price all the way to $680 from $600, while D.A. Davidson went with a much more modest $570 price objective.
The 12-month consensus target price of $586.84 is a 4.9% premium to current levels. Covering brokerages are optimistic on Costco stock, with 20 of 26 recommending a "buy" or better, and not a single "sell" on the books.
On the charts, the equity is facing off with closing pressure from the $560 level. In addition, COST has failed to close above its 10-day moving average in roughly a week, but is today set to topple the stubborn trendline. COST is up 23% in 2023.