KeyBanc analyst Bradley Thomas says Lowe's still remains one of his top picks, supported by positive trends in the home improvement category, a near-term tailwind from Hurricane Florence, as well as expectations that new CEO Marvin Ellison will improve productivity and capital efficiency over the next 2-3 years. Thomas, who reiterates an Overweight rating and $125 price target on the shares, notes that Lowe's is planning a sell-side analyst event on September 27, earnings on November 20 and an analyst day on December 12, and will look for Ellison and his team to quantify the opportunities they say. Thomas believes shares are "compelling" given the fundamental growth opportunity he sees for the company, and says shares could see additional multiple expansion if execution improves and comps accelerate.

Bullish option flow detected in Lowe's with 4,454 calls trading, 1.4x expected, and implied vol increasing over 1 point to 25.60%. Apr-24 240 calls and Sep-24 230 calls are the most active options, with total volume in those strikes near 1,600 contracts. The Put/Call Ratio is 0.46. Earnings are expected on May 21st.