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Target Stock Options
Target Corporation was in the news a year ago when hackers stole forty million credit card numbers plus seventy million phone numbers and addresses from Target servers. Bloomberg reported on how Target missed warnings.
The biggest retail hack in U.S. history wasn’t particularly inventive, nor did it appear destined for success. In the days prior to Thanksgiving 2013, someone installed malware in Target’s (TGT) security and payments system designed to steal every credit card used at the company’s 1,797 U.S. stores. At the critical moment-when the Christmas gifts had been scanned and bagged and the cashier asked for a swipe-the malware would step in, capture the shopper’s credit card number, and store it on a Target server commandeered by the hackers.
More than 90 lawsuits have been filed against Target by customers and banks for negligence and compensatory damages. That’s on top of other costs, which analysts estimate could run into the billions. Target spent $61 million through Feb. 1 responding to the breach, according to its fourth-quarter report to investors. It set up a customer response operation, and in an effort to regain lost trust, Steinhafel promised that consumers won’t have to pay any fraudulent charges stemming from the breach. Target’s profit for the holiday shopping period fell 46 percent from the same quarter the year before; the number of transactions suffered its biggest decline since the retailer began reporting the statistic in 2008.
And now Target is recovering, except for closing all of their stores in Canada, after just a two year trial. Anyone who purchased puts with Target stock options at the time of the credit card fiasco made out like a bandit!
Better Sales but Target Closes Canada Stores
Target has made a nice recovery after the credit card fiasco. However, its two year trial in Canada did not pan out. Forbes writes about the cost of Target’s Canada exit.
Target TGT -0.06% reported stronger than expected fourth quarter earnings on Wednesday, helped in part by growing online sales, but posted a net loss on its decision to leave Canada.
Adjusted earnings came in at $1.50 per share, beating Wall Street consensus estimates of $1.46 per share. Excluding items, Target reported a loss of $5.59 per share, reflecting a $5.1 billion pre-tax loss related to its decision to pull out of Canada after just two years.
The company’s conclusion to give up on Canada, announced last month, came after an internal analysis showed their presence there wouldn’t be profitable for at least another six years.
Again there is room for profit with Target stock options as the retailer goes through big changes.
Target Stock Price
Target took a dip during the 2008 market crash like everyone else. The stock fell from $70 a share in 2007 to $29 a share in February of 2009.
2. Target Corporation was in the news
a year ago when hackers stole forty
million credit card numbers plus
seventy million phone numbers and
addresses from Target servers.
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5. The biggest retail hack in U.S. history
wasn’t particularly inventive, nor did it
appear destined for success.
6. In the days prior to Thanksgiving 2013,
someone installed malware in Target’s
(TGT) security and payments system
designed to steal every credit card used
at the company’s 1,797 U.S. stores.
7. At the critical moment-when the
Christmas gifts had been scanned and
bagged and the cashier asked for a swipe-
the malware would step in, capture the
shopper’s credit card number, and store
it on a Target server commandeered by
the hackers.
8. More than 90 lawsuits have been filed
against Target by customers and banks
for negligence and compensatory
damages.
9. That’s on top of other costs, which
analysts estimate could run into the
billions.
10. Target spent $61 million through Feb. 1
responding to the breach, according to
its fourth-quarter report to investors.
11. It set up a customer response operation,
and in an effort to regain lost trust,
Steinhafel promised that consumers
won’t have to pay any fraudulent
charges stemming from the breach.
12. Target’s profit for the holiday shopping
period fell 46 percent from the same
quarter the year before
13. The number of transactions suffered its
biggest decline since the retailer began
reporting the statistic in 2008.
14. And now Target is recovering,
except for closing all of their stores in
Canada, after just a two year trial.
15. Anyone who purchased puts with
Target stock options at the time of
the credit card fiasco made out like a
bandit!
20. Target TGT -0.06% reported stronger
than expected fourth quarter earnings on
Wednesday, helped in part by growing
online sales, but posted a net loss on its
decision to leave Canada.
21. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.50 per
share, beating Wall Street consensus
estimates of $1.46 per share.
22. Excluding items, Target reported a loss
of $5.59 per share, reflecting a $5.1
billion pre-tax loss related to its decision
to pull out of Canada after just two
years.
23. The company’s conclusion to give up on
Canada, announced last month, came
after an internal analysis showed their
presence there wouldn’t be profitable for
at least another six years.
24. Again there is room for profit with
Target stock options as the retailer
goes through big changes.
26. Target took a dip during the 2008
market crash like everyone else.
27. The stock fell from $70 a share in
2007 to $29 a share in February of
2009.
28. But, Target came back growing in
peaks and valleys to $70 a share by
the beginning of 2013, before the
credit card mess and fell to $56 a
share, only to rise to the $76 range
today.
29. An interesting aspect of the stock is
that it has gapped up or down on
opening seven times in the last thirty
days, with a low of $72 and a high of
$77 a share.
31. Forbes believes that Target
earnings will be under pressure for
some time to come.
32. Target is scheduled to release its Q4
fiscal 2014 earnings on February 25th
and we believe that its growth will once
again feel the impact of falling foot
traffic.
33. Across the industry, buyers in numbers
have switched to online shopping, that
has impacted sales of retailers such as
Target and Wal-Mart, which rely on
store sales for almost all the revenues.
34. The report is already out and Target
did a little better than expected but
the point about online sales is
important.
35. Target has stores in every nook and
cranny of the country but as people
shop online more and more Target
needs to balance its bricks and
mortar approach with effective
online sales.
36. As this story progresses profits from
Target stock options will come from
correctly reading the tea leaves of
Target’s success or failure in
increasing online sales and
managing the costs of bricks and
mortar stores.
