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Target's planned profit inflection seems unlikely to Morgan Stanley. Contrary to Target pointing to a profit inflection in 2019, Morgan Stanley analyst Simeon Gutman believes the company is closer to an inflection, but not there yet. He thinks gross margin savings from e-commerce fulfillment will underwhelm and cost leverage will not offset higher near-term expenses than the market may be prepared for. While he sees a more tangible bull case emerging around Target's ability to drive strong top-line growth through effective merchandising and drive cost efficiencies, he maintains an Underweight rating on the shares. However, Gutman raised his price target on the retailer's stock to $67 from $60 in the wake of the company's financial community meeting.

Target price target raised to $78 from $70 at BMO Capital. BMO Capital analyst Kelly Bania raised her price target on Target (TGT) to $78, citing its "solid" same-store sales outlook and higher EBIT margin assumptions. The analyst is keeping her Market Perform rating on the shares however given the "unpredictability that sales mix can have on margins". As such, Bania is also maintaining her assumed 12- to 13- times forward earnings multiple in her Target model, which is lower than her multiple assumptions for discount store peers Walmart (WMT) and Costco (COST).

Target price target raised to $85 from $79 at Credit Suisse. Credit Suisse analyst Seth Sigman raised his price target for Target to $85 from $79 following the company's analyst day. At the event, management provided a more optimistic earnings algorithm for 2019 and beyond, supported by continued market share gains, an improving merchandise mix, and cost savings across various buckets including digital fulfillment, the analyst notes. Sigman expects the message of margin improvement to be met with some skepticism, but Target's significant comps outperformance in Q4, combined with the profit inflection, should help instill some confidence. He reiterates an Outperform rating on the shares.