Benzinga | Oct 7, 2021 02:34PM EDT

Deutsche Bank, Cowen Bump Up PT On Costco Wholesale

* Cowen analyst Oliver Chen raised Costco Wholesale Corp's (NASDAQ:COST) price target to $520 (implying a 13% upside) from $440 and maintained an Outperform rating on the shares.

* The analyst noted continuing positive momentum and that the company is poised for ongoing share growth.

* Chen said record renewal rates and Executive Memberships are compelling leading indicators.

* Deutsche Bank analyst Krisztina Katai raised Costco's price target to $468 from $424 (implying a 2.5% upside) and kept a Hold rating.

* Katai said Costco started out the fiscal year "firing on all cylinders."

* Loop Capital analyst Laura Champine kept her Buy rating and $515 price target on Costco after its better than expected September sales data.

* The analyst is cutting her FY23 EPS view by 3c to $13.26 on expectations of impact from higher supply chain costs but also raises her Q1 sales forecast by about $500 million to $48.0 billion.

* The company's long-term growth and stability deserve modestly higher multiples, and the stock should appreciate as earnings estimates are upwardly revised, Champine notes.

* DA Davidson analyst Michael Baker maintained his Neutral rating and $423 price target on Costco but nudged his FY22 and FY23 EPS views by 2 cents to $11.81 and $12.84, respectively.

* The analyst notes that the company's core U.S. comp at 10% reported yesterday was ahead of his estimate of 5.0% and equates to 26.7% on a two-year basis, which represents the highest level of increase on record that goes back to 2014.

* Price Action: COST shares are trading higher by 1.49% at $455.82 on the last check Thursday.