-- CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:
We lift our 12-month target from $75 to $92, 16x our 2026 EPS of $5.74 (raised from $5.36; 2027 up to $6.40 from $5.78). This represents a discount to its long-term mean of 19x, which we believe is justified given the recent steep deceleration in comp sales and corresponding margin pressure. Q1 results beat consensus, though the bar was low after several quarters of decelerating growth. The good news is that Q1 may have marked the low point in comp sales growth, with easier comps in Q2 and especially the back half of the year supporting better growth. We think the share reaction on April 30 largely reflects this optimism, though we believe consensus estimates for 2027 may still need to move higher (currently calls for just 3% Y/Y EPS growth in 2027 after 5% growth in 2026). Still, we remain at Hold as we worry about the rising competitive environment, including Amazon's (AMZN 268 *****) recent push in same-day perishables delivery, as well as its plans to open 100+ Whole Foods over the next several years.