Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price target lifted by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the retailer’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target points to a potential upside of 8.11% from the stock’s previous close.

COST has been the topic of several other reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, December 12th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Gordon Haskett lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $947.00 to $917.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,009.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 2.6%

COST opened at $971.23 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $431.10 billion, a PE ratio of 52.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $917.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $931.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Costco Wholesale has a 52 week low of $844.06 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.07. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 29.35% and a net margin of 2.96%.The firm had revenue of $67.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 458 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $955.00, for a total value of $437,390.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,148,060. This represents a 5.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Javier Polit sold 558 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $862.89, for a total value of $481,492.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 10,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,792,849.10. This represents a 5.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 6,915 shares of company stock worth $6,317,097 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Soundwatch Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 635.7% during the second quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 2,206 shares in the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hurley Capital LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 120.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 33 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Costco Wholesale

Here are the key news stories impacting Costco Wholesale this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised targets and reiterated bullish ratings — Evercore ISI bumped its price target to $1,050 and kept an “outperform” call, and JPMorgan raised its target to $1,050 with an “overweight” rating; these lifts imply upside vs. the current price and may underpin investor interest. Evercore ISI price target raise The Fly
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying: RFG Advisory increased its stake in COST (small position increase disclosed), which signals continued fund-level confidence in the business. RFG Advisory buys Costco shares
• Positive Sentiment: Local development pipeline: city approvals moving forward for a new Costco at Seminole Towne Center, which supports long-term footprint expansion and sales growth. Sanford moves forward with Costco development
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend speculation: commentary on the possibility of another large special dividend can buoy investor demand (special dividends historically lift sentiment). Will Costco treat investors to another special dividend?
• Neutral Sentiment: Interest and coverage pieces (Zacks, Yahoo, Motley Fool) highlight Costco as a trending name and discuss January sales strength and upcoming Q2 results — these drive attention but don’t change fundamentals immediately. Zacks trending stock piece
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data in the feed is effectively zero/invalid and provides no meaningful bearish pressure (no actionable signal).
• Negative Sentiment: Consumer issues: reports that some gift cards sold at Costco are now worthless could hurt member trust and generate negative headlines. Some gift cards sold at Costco are now worthless
• Negative Sentiment: Recall and safety warnings: a nationwide recall update with warnings of “severe” reactions raises potential liability and PR risk; such stories can pressure the stock near-term until resolved. Costco recall update

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global chain of membership-only warehouse clubs that sell a wide array of merchandise in bulk at discounted prices. The company’s product mix includes groceries, fresh and frozen food, household goods, electronics, apparel, and seasonal items, augmented by its prominent private-label brand, Kirkland Signature. Costco’s business model centers on annual membership fees and high-volume, low-margin sales, designed to drive repeat purchasing and strong customer loyalty among both consumers and small-business buyers.

Beyond merchandise, Costco provides a range of ancillary services that complement its warehouses, including gasoline stations, pharmacy and optical services, hearing aid centers, photo services, and travel and insurance products.