MKM Partners analyst Patrick McKeever kept his Buy rating and $93 price target on Target Corp (TGT) ahead of its Q1 earnings next week. The analyst says the aggressive Street consensus for earnings is "doable" in spite of the negative impact from cold weather in the East, noting that the quarter will likely see more strong growth in digital sales driven by more "expedient" fulfillment and new orders. McKeever adds that despite the 12% run in the stock price year-to-date, its valuation is still 3.4 points below that of Walmart (WMT) on "overly pessimistic" investor sentiment. The analyst says Target remains his "Top Pick" in the space in 2018.

Bearish flow noted in Target with 8,270 puts trading, or 1.2x expected. Most active are 4/26 weekly 160 puts and Apr-24 167.5 puts, with total volume in those strikes near 3,900 contracts. The Put/Call Ratio is 1.79, while ATM IV is up over 1 point on the day. Earnings are expected on May 22nd.