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Investing.com — Retailers are rallying Monday after more good vaccine news and ahead of Black Friday and expectations for a strong holiday season.
Macy’s (NYSE:M) is soaring 15% and Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) is up 10%, while Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS), which got an upgrade from JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), rose 8%.
The National Retail Federation forecast holiday retail sales would be up 3.6% to 5.2.%, versus an increase of 4% last year, CNBC reported. Black Friday is coming up this week and may give retailers a taste of shopper appetite.
Earlier, AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) said its COVID-19 vaccine could be around 90% effective, following in the footsteps of rivals Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), which earlier this month also announced strong vaccine results.
JPMorgan upgraded Gap to overweight from neutral with a price target of $30, noting that Gap is underperforming the S&P 500 by 50% over the past three years. Analyst Matthew Boss said the company is trading at five times Ebitda, commensurate with distressed retail — U.S. department store averages, according to StreetInsider.
Gap is expected to file quarterly results Tuesday after the close. Analysts estimate earnings per share of 31 cents on sales of $3.76 billion, according to data tracked by Investing.com. Gap surprised investors when it last reported earnings in August, beating expectations for profit and sales.
Elsewhere, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) raised its price target on Gap to $25 from $22, keeping the stock at equal weight.
