Short Squeeze And Earnings: Why Kohl's Stock Spiked Thursday - Kohl's (NYSE:KSS)

Kohl’s (KSS) shares closed at $13.06 on May 22, 2026, down 35.35% year to date, and the stock trades at a trailing P/E of 5 and price-to-book of 0.352, according to the article. It cites FY2025 free cash flow of $1.008 billion and a Q4 FY2026 adjusted EPS beat ($1.07 vs. $0.8512) on revenue of $5.17 billion. The piece notes a dividend cut in 2025 and weaker comparable sales (-2.8%).

Morgan Stanley upgraded Dell to Equal Weight from Underweight and set a $448 target (from $170), citing Dell’s Q1 results and a Taiwan visit as signs it’s managing the semiconductor supply shortage better than peers. Other moves: Guggenheim raised Zscaler to Buy ($214); Citi to Buy Kohl’s ($22); Wells Fargo to Overweight Tandem Diabetes ($27); Truist to Outperform Federal Realty ($130). Truist cut Accenture to Hold ($210); Stephens cut Campbell’s to Equal Weight ($21). Texas Capital cut Caesars

Wall Street analysts issued multiple calls Monday. Goldman initiated HawkEye 360 as buy; Morgan Stanley upgraded Dell to equal weight; Wells Fargo upgraded Tandem Diabetes Care to overweight. Citizens initiated Microsoft at Market Outperform with a $550 target; Barclays initiated IBM at overweight with a $350 target. Cantor reiterated Tesla overweight; RBC reiterated Meta outperform. Broadcom was reiterated overweight by Morgan Stanley, raising its target to $485.

Citi upgraded Kohl’s (KSS) to buy from neutral and raised its price target to $22 from $14, implying 53% upside from Friday’s close, according to a note by analyst Paul Lejuez. Citi cited improving free cash flow, including $1B in 2024, and projects near-market-cap free cash flow in 2026-27. The article notes Kohl’s has faced declining sales and that its shares rose after a first-quarter earnings report.

Kohl’s executives said Q1 strength in women’s and juniors apparel, led by the SO brand, drove a 10% increase in juniors. Kohl’s Card comparable sales were flat after a mid-single-digit decline in Q4, a 600-basis-point improvement, CFO Jill Timm said. Digital sales rose 4% while stores fell in the low single digits. Net loss was $14M. Kohl’s reaffirmed FY2026 guidance: comps down 2% to flat, operating margin 2.8%–3.4%, EPS $1.00–$1.60.

Kohl’s reported a narrower Q1 net loss of $14 million (vs. $15 million a year earlier), with loss per share steady at $0.13, as lower expenses and a higher income tax benefit offset weaker demand. Net sales fell to $2.998 billion from $3.049 billion. Operating income declined to $46 million. For FY2026, the company expects net and comparable sales down 2% to flat and adjusted EPS of $1.00–$1.60.