Despite the stock market’s volatile reaction to Wednesday’s latest earnings results for Marshalls and TJ Maxx’s parent company, at least two Wall Street firms see a strong future for TJX stock. Bernstein and Bank of America reiterated their ratings on TJX as “overweight” and “buy,” respectively, in reports released Thursday. The companies also raised their 12-month price target to $175, suggesting the company’s stock could rise about 12% further from Thursday’s closing price. Although TJX posted higher profits and sales in its fiscal fourth quarter earnings report, its outlook for the quarter and full year fell short of expectations, and the stock price fell for the third consecutive day. Bernstein analyst Aneesha Sherman said management said TJX’s quarter-to-date performance was strong despite the lower official numbers. CEO Ernie Herman said the company is off to a strong start. But Sherman believes TJX’s valuation (30 times future value) has room for further upside, especially compared to competitors such as Ross Stores and Burlington Stores. At a time when concerns about artificial intelligence disrupting business are disrupting investor calculations, analysts see TJX as an “AI-proof retail concoction company,” Sherman wrote. “The company is also one of the new relatively ‘AI-proof’ names with an offline, experiential shopping model that takes people on a ‘treasure hunt’ that is difficult to disintermediate online.” Bank of America lowered its full-year earnings per share forecast for 2026 and 2027, citing higher non-production operating costs, but analyst Lorraine Hutchinson said her numbers were conservative and she expected them to improve throughout the year. Bank of America believes TJX will continue to outperform regardless of the trade environment, as tariff uncertainty continues following last week’s Supreme Court ruling overturning President Trump’s tax under a 1977 law. “By allowing TJX to underwrite the price, the tariffs are now profitable because each additional dollar in sales reduces the number of units sold, reducing the cost of transporting, distributing, storing, and selling these items,” Hutchinson wrote. TJX stock outperformed Tuesday’s bear market, rising as much as 2.2%. TJX 1Y Mountain TJX 1 year chart.
