Why Costco Stock Slipped Today

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) released its latest set of monthly operating and financial figures Thursday, which was met by mild concern from investors. Adding to the downbeat mood, an analyst reduced his price target on the famous retailer's stock. This drove the shares down by more than 1% on the day, essentially matching the decline of the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC).

Same-store sales bumps

Just after market close Wednesday, Costco took the lid off its October metrics. Net sales for the month came in at $21.75 billion, a tally that was nearly 9% higher on a year-over-year basis.

Image source: Getty Images.

Overall same-store sales also saw improvement, rising by 6.6% against the October 2024 figure. Digitally enabled sales leaped well higher, rising at a 16.6% clip. Stripping out relatively volatile gasoline prices from the equation, Costco's "comps" rose by 6.8%.

That prompted Christopher Horvers of J.P. Morgan to trim his price target on Costco stock. He now feels it's worth $1,025 per share, down from Horvers' previous $1,050 level. According to reports, the analyst wrote that the October numbers were basically in line with expectations, but the government shutdown was having a negative effect on business.

One caveat from a pundit

The J.P. Morgan pundit wasn't the only Costco-watcher weighing in on the company. DA Davidson's Michael Baker reiterated his $1,000 per-share price target and neutral recommendation on the company.

In his update on the stock, according to reports, he drew attention to the fact that the numbers rose as high as they did partially because of two negative factors in October 2024, namely Hurricane Helene and the East Coast port strikes occurring at the time.

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.