Lowe’s shares retreat the most in seven months on Wednesday, as first-quarter comparable sales fall short of expectations

On May 24th Lowe’s Companies Inc (LOW) reported lower-than-anticipated first-quarter comparable sales.

Lowe’s Companies Inc shares registered their largest daily slump since October 25th 2016 on Wednesday, while also marking their third consecutive session of losses. The stock went down 3.02% ($2.49) to $79.85, after touching an intraday low at $78.40, or a price level not seen since February 28th ($74.17). In the week ended on May 21st the shares of the home improvement chain lost 0.27% of their market value compared to a week ago, which marked a second consecutive period of decline. The stock has extended its loss to 5.93% so far during the current month, following a 3.25% increase in April. The latter has been a sixth straight month of gains. For the entire past year, the shares of Lowe’s Companies Inc retreated 6.47%.

Sales at stores, which are open for at least 1 year, were reported to have increased 1.9% during the quarter ended on May 5th. In comparison, analysts surveyed by research company Consensus Metrix had expected a 2.6% rise in comparable sales.

At the same time, Lowe’s net sales went up 10.7% to reach $16.86 billion during the latest quarter.

The company’s net earnings, however, were reported to have shrunk to $602 million ($0.70 per share), during the recent quarter from $884 million ($0.98 per share) during the same period a year ago.

On the other hand, the retailer’s pre-tax loss reached $464 million due to debt extinguishment related to its $1.6-billion cash tender offer.

According to CNN Money, the 27 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Lowe’s stock price, have a median target of $89.00, with a high estimate of $100.00 and a low estimate of $69.00. The median estimate is an 11.46% surge compared to the closing price of $79.85 on May 24th.

The same media also reported that 15 out of 30 surveyed investment analysts had rated Lowe’s stock as “Buy”, while 11 – as “Hold”.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, todays levels of importance for the Lowes stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $80.02
R2 – $80.19
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $80.37
R4 (Long Breakout) – $80.88
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $81.49
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $81.76

S1 – $79.68
S2 – $79.51
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $79.33
S4 (Short Breakout) – $78.82
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $78.21
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $77.94

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Lowe’s Companies Inc (LOW) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $84.81
R1 – $85.98
R2 – $87.38
R3 – $88.55
R4 – $89.73

S1 – $83.41
S2 – $82.24
S3 – $80.84
S4 – $79.45