U.S. retail giants from Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) to Target Corp. (TGT) are temporarily closing some of their stores and curtailing operations amid the violent nationwide protests following last week's death of George Floyd.Demonstrations in dozens of cities across the U.S., including New York and Chicago, have since turned violent leading in some places to looting and damage to a number of retail stores.Apple, which had just reopened about half of its U.S. stores after the coronavirus related shutdowns, said it has temporarily closed many of its stores to protect the safety of employees and customers. Target announced the temporary closure of 175 of its stores across the country, including 32 in Minneapolis. Amazon said it is scaling back deliveries in a number of cities including Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland.“Minneapolis is grieving for a reason,” Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote in a Twitter post. “To paraphrase Dr. King, the negative peace which is the absence of tension is no substitute for the positive peace which is the presence of justice. Justice is how we heal.”Apple shares have recovered all of this year’s losses after appreciating 42% since mid-March. The stock closed little changed on Friday trading at $317.94Four-star analyst Samik Chatterjee at J.P. Morgan sees more upside potential in the stock fueled by bullish prospects for the iPhone maker in India. Chatterjee last week bumped up the price target to $365 from $350 and maintained a Buy rating on the shares.The analyst contends that the launch of the iPhone SE should help Apple build its position in emerging markets, particularly in India. The "attractive value proposition" with iPhone SE can change the landscape for Apple, which has struggled to build a material presence in India, he added.“Our recent supply chain checks highlight key milestones relative to verification testing are on track for iPhone launches in September, in addition to no major component bottlenecks,” Chatterjee wrote in a note to investors. “Pre-order and shipping dates might differ modestly for certain models. Delay risks remain, but largely from incremental disruptions."Turning now to the rest of Wall Street, analysts mostly share Chatterjee’s bullish rating outlook on Apple’s stock. The Strong Buy consensus is backed up by 27 Buys with the rest split between 4 Holds and 1 Sell. However, following the recent rally, the $322.63 average price target indicates shares have limited upside potential in the coming year. (See Apple stock analysis on TipRanks).Related News: Logitech Shares Lifted In Pre-Market On Share Buyback Plan, 10% Dividend Boost Apple Snaps Up AI Startup Inductiv, As Analysts Boost PTs On Store Reopenings KKR Invests $1.5 Billion in Reliance’s Jio Platforms In Biggest Deal In Asia More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Google Delays Rollout Of Android Beta Version Amid U.S. Protests * Facebook Holds ‘Productive’ Call With Trump, As Social Media War Rages On * Nordstrom's Shares Drop 12% on Difficult Quarter * Chevron to Make Sweeping Job Cuts as Oil Demand Plummets
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Beyond Meat (BYND) is partnering up with fast-food chains Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and Pizza Hut to expand the reach of its famous plant-based beef in China.The news sent shares up 6.2% on Friday. According to social media site Weibo, the plant-based meat pioneer will be rolling out its products with KFC from June. The partnership with Pizza Hut is slated to start in the coming week. No further details were announced.“We’re proud to expand our partnership with KFC into China, one of their largest markets worldwide, as well as introduce a new partnership with Pizza Hut in China,” a Beyond Meat spokesperson said in an e-mail response to Bloomberg. "We'll be sharing more details soon."Back in April, Beyond Meat made the foray into the market in China announcing a partnership with Starbucks (SBUX). The coffee chain operator is offering a new menu to Chinese customers featuring the company’s ‘beef’ in pastas and lasagna, as well as non-dairy milk and fake pork products.During the same month, Yum China’s KFC also announced that it will begin its first Chinese trial of a plant-based version of its popular fried chicken. According to the company’s Weibo page, U.S. agribusiness Cargill Ltd will supply the nuggets.Beyond Meat’s expansion plans have fueled its share price to more than double since March 18. The stock traded at $128.29 as of Friday. Following the impressive rally, the $90.64 average analyst price target now indicates 29% downside potential from current levels. (See Beyond Meat stock analysis on TipRanks)However, one of the analysts sees more gains in the offing for Beyond Meat’s stock. Five-star analyst Peter Saleh, on May 19 initiated the stock with a Buy rating and $173 price target, reflecting 35% upside potential over the coming year, citing strong sales growth in coming years.“The company’s stated goal is to tackle the $1.4 trillion global meat industry,” Saleh wrote in a note to investors, adding that about $270 billion of that is spent in the U.S. “The adoption of Beyond’s products by mainstream customers in the suburbs will be the key to long-term success. We expect the company to expand into other protein categories including poultry to help broaden its appeal.”The analyst forecasts sales to grow 56% in 2020 and 51% in 2021.The rest of Wall Street analysts remain sidelined on Beyond Meat’s stock right now. The Hold analyst consensus is divided into 5 Hold, 5 Sell and 4 Buy ratings.Related News: Hormel Stock Rises After It Reports Record Sales Papa John’s U.S. Pizza Sales Jump 33.5%; Shares Pop 7% In Pre-Market Uber In Partnership With MoneyGram For Driver Discount During Pandemic More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Google Delays Rollout Of Android Beta Version Amid U.S. Protests * Facebook Holds ‘Productive’ Call With Trump, As Social Media War Rages On * Nordstrom's Shares Drop 12% on Difficult Quarter * Chevron to Make Sweeping Job Cuts as Oil Demand Plummets
(Bloomberg) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has effectively bowed to pressure from the continuing rally in U.S. stocks and abandoned its call for another steep sell-off.Strategists led by David Kostin have rolled back their prediction that the S&P 500 would slump to the 2,400 level — over 20% below Friday’s 3,044 close — and now see downside risks capped at 2,750. The U.S. equity benchmark could even rally further to 3,200, they wrote in a May 29 note.“The powerful rebound means our previous three-month target of 2,400 is unlikely to be realized,” the strategists wrote. “Monetary and fiscal policy support limit likely downside to roughly 10%. Investor positioning has oscillated between neutral and low and is a possible 5% upside catalyst.”The shift came just after JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s strategists shifted in the other direction — reining in their bullish outlook. JPMorgan’s Marko Kolanovic warned about rising U.S.-China tensions in a note May 28.JPMorgan’s Kolanovic Dials Back Bullish Stance on EquitiesGoldman’s strategists maintained their year-end target of 3,000 for the benchmark U.S. stock gauge.Goldman continues to argue that short-term returns are skewed to the downside — “or neutral at best” — thanks to the risk of an economic, earnings, trade or political “hiccup” to the normalization trend. A broader participation in the rally would be needed for the S&P 500 to move meaningfully higher.The S&P 500 has climbed 36% from its March 23 low, helped by massive fiscal and monetary support, mega-cap outperformance and optimism about the economy restarting, according to Goldman. Last month it argued fear of missing out was a key driver of the rebound in stocks.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.