Is This A Total Break-Out For Wal-Mart Stock Chart? (WMT, TGT, COST)

Maybe it is the slowing economy again, or maybe it is that Wal-Mart has tried to better focus on quality and value rather than solely focusing on prices.  Shares recently hit a multi-year high of $66.66 and the gain of 0.5% has shares at $65.86. This may be a sad trend when you have to celebrate that Wal-Mart and the dollar stores are still part of a secular theme for the coming decade.

Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) is also only about 3% from its year high as well, but shareholders currently tend to be more in favor of Wal-Mart.  Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) is about 5% within its year high as well, but the stock trades at a much higher multiple of earnings than Target or Costco.

Dow Jones showed a technical analysis report from Ladenberg Thalmann on Wal-Mart showing that the first resistance is up around $70 longer-term but that it could reach as high as $80 longer-term.  What is interesting is that the Thomson Reuters consensus analyst target is $66.06, and that is more of a fundamental analyst group.  If these stars line up properly, the charts are just better than the fundamental analysts are giving Wal-Mart credit for.

We have one other issue to bring up here on Wal-Mart’s stock chart.  The prior breakouts were thwarted due first to earnings and then due to the issues down south of the border.  We are seeing signs that a near-term topping out is taking place here around the $66 price.  Maybe this is just a pause, and it is possible that Wal-Mart is just being used as a source of funds between $65 and $66+ as the shares are hitting multi-year highs.  The all-time high is $70.25 plus or minus a few cents.

JON C. OGG