Wells Fargo & Company Increases Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target to $1,000.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $950.00 to $1,000.00 in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 0.15% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on COST. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $917.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,065.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “sell” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,043.13.

View Our Latest Report on Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $998.47 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $442.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.10 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Costco Wholesale has a 52-week low of $844.06 and a 52-week high of $1,067.08. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $995.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $942.88.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The retailer reported $4.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $69.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.96 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.57% and a net margin of 2.99%.The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.02 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 850 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $986.26, for a total value of $838,321.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,169,907.28. The trade was a 16.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 730 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,003.02, for a total value of $732,204.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,139,485.42. This represents a 10.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,538 shares of company stock valued at $3,416,416. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hurley Capital LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 120.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 33 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Costco Wholesale News

Here are the key news stories impacting Costco Wholesale this week:

• Positive Sentiment: March sales beat and traffic strength — Costco reported March net sales up ~11.3% to $28.41B with strong comps and digital growth, reinforcing momentum in membership, transactions and fuel-driven traffic. This is the main fundamental bullish catalyst supporting higher estimates for revenue and same-store sales. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Broker upgrades / price-target raises — Deutsche Bank, Telsey and Wells Fargo raised price targets (Deutsche to $1,104; Telsey to $1,135; Wells Fargo to $1,000), providing analyst support that can underpin upside in the shares. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile media/catalyst mentions — Jim Cramer highlighted two operational catalysts (e.g., fuel pricing and other retailer advantages), and viral consumer interest in Costco’s one-ounce gold bars and popular product finds is boosting brand visibility and short-term revenue upside. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: DA Davidson reiterates Neutral at $1,000 — the firm reaffirmed a neutral view with a target essentially in line with the stock’s level, suggesting limited near-term upside from that shop. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Media and retail write-ups continue to praise Costco’s long-term thesis — several outlets (The Motley Fool, Zacks, Yahoo lifestyle pieces) published favorable takes on Costco’s moat and product wins; these support sentiment but are longer‑term confirmation rather than immediate catalysts. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data shows no meaningful build — reported short interest was effectively zero in the latest snapshot, so short-covering or squeeze dynamics are not a near-term driver. (likely data/formatting artifact)
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns — several analysts and commentary (e.g., Seeking Alpha, some sell-side notes) argue Costco’s premium multiple (~50x) is hard to justify, which can cap upside and prompt profit-taking after the sales beat. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Macro / headline-driven risk — broader market weakness (S&P futures reacting to geopolitical headlines) likely weighed on retail and large-cap retailers today and may have triggered sector-wide selling pressure that offset Costco’s positive sales print. Article Title