(This is “The Best Stocks in the Market,” brought to you by Josh Brown and Sean Russo of Ritholtz Wealth Management.) Josh — We made this call. I say this because last week I was ineffective at writing about the stocks that caught our attention. Did it bring me grace? perhaps? Anyway, this winter we talked about how Target (TGT) is seriously lagging compared to Walmart (WMT) and discussed its potential for a comeback now that its earnings growth story is finally coming to light. That’s exactly what has been happening ever since. The stock price did something Walmart shareholders didn’t foresee. In other words, I caught up. I said on March 5th that these two are not even in the same league, let alone the same stadium. Walmart’s stock has soared 36% year-over-year, while Target’s stock has soared just 7%. That gap is no longer there. Over the past 12 months, TGT is up 41%, WMT is up 20%, and the stock is up about 15% since setting a $120 target in March. Walmart, on the other hand, took the same amount of time to hit record highs and then level out. Price movements make the story even clearer. Target closed this week at $138, just 3% off its 52-week high of $143. Walmart’s closing price was $113, 17% below its 52-week high. In fact, Walmart hit an all-time closing price on May 19th and has continued to rise ever since, while Target continues to rise. This does not eliminate long-term performance gaps. Since 2016, Walmart is still up about 474% compared to Target’s 48%, and this decade-long hole won’t be closed in four months, if at all. But short-term momentum has completely reversed since March, and that’s exactly the kind of change that first appears in the one-year numbers before reaching the 10-year numbers. Dear Shareholders, The trends that caught our attention in March are starting to accelerate. Best Stock Spotlight: Target Inc. (TGT) Sean — We wrote about Target on March 5th, just after the stock rose 7% on earnings and new CEO Mike Fidelke laid out his turnaround plan. We said prices would be the earliest indicator of whether the recovery was working, and they’re now up 16%. Target reported its first-quarter results in May, which was the company’s biggest revenue increase since November 2021. Net sales rose 6.7% to $25.4 billion, and comparable sales rose 5.6%, marking Target’s first positive financial result in five quarters. A similar increase in sales is due to traffic, which is a healthy kind of thing (as opposed to the high prices that people seem to be fed up with). Shopper traffic increased by 4.4%, digital sales increased by 8.9%, and same-day delivery increased by more than 27%. All six major product categories grew year over year. Margins are also trending steadily. Gross profit margin expanded from 28.2% to 29.0%, and CFO Jim Lee specifically credited high-margin revenue sources like Roundel (Target’s retail media network, which we covered in March) and Target Plus Marketplace for increasing gross profit by nearly 60%. Management raised its full-year sales outlook to approximately 4% growth (up 2 percentage points) and set EPS at the high end of a range of $7.50 to $8.50. The modification story I wrote in March is also worth updating. Target opened its 2,000th store during the quarter, has more than 100 renovations underway, and will roll out Target Beauty Studios to more than 600 stores this fall, along with its largest food and beverage assortment refresh in more than a decade. Capital expenditures have been running at $5 billion a year, and all of these investments have increased them by more than $1 billion. The next earnings test will be held on August 19th. Consensus forecasts for EPS to increase 7.8% to $2.21 and revenue to increase 3.2% to $26 billion. This will be a big payoff, as management is guiding for even stronger earnings growth in the second half of the year as investments are phased in and cost reductions accelerate (aren’t these days?) Share buybacks were suspended in the first quarter, but $8.3 billion remains authorized, and management has indicated that share buybacks could resume in the second half with further dividend increases. Target hit a new low in the fourth quarter of 2025, down 65% from its November high. It was a stock that went bust during the culture wars, with consumers fed up with the in-store experience. Target has been working on a number of issues and so far it seems to be working. This is going to be fun to keep watching. Josh from Risk Management — Target (TGT) is doing exactly what the March 5th chart shows. The stock regained its 200-day moving average, topped $120, and hasn’t looked back since. This month, the stock hit a new 52-week high around $142, before settling in the low $130s. The old resistance level at $120 is now the bottom. Stocks have tumbled several times since March to test that level, but have rebounded each time. This is the type of action that turns a previous ceiling into an actual support level, keeping the pattern of higher lows intact throughout the entire move. Momentum supports price action. The RSI is in the low 60s, essentially the same number as when we saw the breakout in March, and well above the weak sub-50 range that defined the stock during the previous downtrend. This movement has not seen a sharp rise above the mid-70% range. This means that the rally is not moving forward, even after registering an increase of more than 40%. There are no negative deviations to note on either side, and the RSI keeps pace with the stock price as it makes further highs, rather than weakening while it rises. This is usually the first warning sign that a trend is running out of gas. The level to focus on now is the old entry point itself at $120. This has been a resistance level for most of the past year, but has turned into support since March, with the stock dropping several times to test a pullback, only to bounce back each time. As long as $120 holds, the pattern of rising lows will remain in place. Short-term traders can use the 50-day near $129 as a first line of defense, but the real important level is $120. If I were a trader, that’s my real risk line. A decisive break below this would send stocks about 18 points, or 13%, below today’s levels and be the first real sign that the bull market is losing its footing. Disclosure: (none) All opinions expressed by CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, its parent or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated on television, radio, the Internet, or another medium. 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