Retail sales data for December painted a disappointing picture, with consumer spending coming in flat, down from a 0.6% jump in November and missing analysts' estimates of a 0.4% increase. In response, shares of both Target Corp (NYSE:TGT) and Walmart Inc (NASDAQ:WMT) are moving lower.
TGT was last seen down 1.6% to trade at $113.72, paring gains after earlier hitting its highest level since March. Yesterday, the retailer announced it will eliminate 500 office and regional distribution roles to invest in store staffing and improve customer experience. Over the last three months, the equity has added 24%.
WMT is 1.5% lower to trade at $127.05 at last check, pulling back from yesterday's record high of $131.79. The retail giant crossed the $1 trillion market cap threshold earlier this month, while the $126 level appears to be emerging as support. In the last nine months, WMT has added 32.5%.
TGT and WMT are both sporting attractively priced options, per their Schaeffer's Volatility Indexes (SVI) that sit in the low 11th and 12th percentile of their annual ranges, respectively. This means options traders are pricing in low volatility expectations for both.
