Costco Wholesale Corp.’s stock jumped to a record high, before erasing those gains, after Raymond James analyst Budd Bugatch boosted his price target to the second highest on Wall Street, citing “solid” November sales results, and optimism ahead of the warehouse-club retailer’s fiscal first-quarter results next week. Bugatch raised his target to $202, which is about 7% above current levels, from $173, while affirming his outperform rating. That puts his target behind just Susquehanna Financial analyst Bill Dreher’s target of $205, according to FactSet. Bugatch acknowledged that the stock’s recent rally “stretches” its valuation above the three-year average, and above those of its large market-capitalization peers. “Nonetheless, the company’s recent sales results have been nothing short of impressive, even in the face of heightened media and investor attention surrounding Amazon’s integration of Whole Foods,” Bugatch wrote in a note to clients. The stock was down 0.2% in morning trade, but was up as much as 0.7% at an all-time intraday high of $191.22 earlier in the session. The stock has run up 19% over the past three months, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has climbed 11% and the S&P 500 has rallied 7.4%. Costso is scheduled to report earnings on Dec. 14, after the market closes.
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