Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) finished the holiday-shortened Christmas Eve session higher and then traded essentially flat after the closing bell, as investors digested fresh holiday-spending reads and positioned into the final stretch of the year.
Target stock after the bell today (24.12.2025): the numbers that matter
Target shares closed up 2.36% at $96.53 on Wednesday, December 24, 2025, after trading between $94.18 and $96.60 during the regular session. Volume was about 3.28 million shares, reflecting the thin liquidity typical of a pre-holiday trading day. [1]
In after-hours trading, TGT was $96.47 at 5:00 p.m. ET, down $0.06 from the regular-session close (a move of about -0.06%). In other words: no meaningful post-bell surprise, but still worth watching given how lightly traded extended-hours sessions can be. [2]
Important calendar note: “tomorrow” isn’t a normal market day
Because this was Christmas Eve trading, U.S. exchanges ran on an early close schedule. The NYSE notes that markets closed early at 1:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025 (with late trading sessions closing later). [3]
And the U.S. stock market is closed on Thursday, Dec. 25 (Christmas Day), meaning the next regular market open is Friday, Dec. 26, 2025. [4]
If you’re preparing “before the market opens tomorrow,” the practical takeaway is: the next real catalyst window is the Friday reopen, when year-end repositioning and post-holiday retail narratives can show up quickly in price action.
Why TGT rose during today’s holiday-shortened session
Target didn’t appear to move on a single company-specific headline Wednesday night. Instead, today’s gain looked like a combination of:
1) The “Santa rally” backdrop and record-setting index closes
U.S. stocks broadly advanced in the shortened session, with the Dow and S&P 500 closing at record highs, supported by renewed strength in AI-linked names and expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2026. [5]
The Associated Press also highlighted how light the day’s activity was—about a third of typical NYSE volume—yet still enough to push indexes to fresh highs. [6]
When the tape is this thin, large-cap consumer names like Target can move more on macro sentiment and flows than on incremental company news.
2) Retail got a late-season demand “check” from Visa and Mastercard data
Investors continue to look for real-time read-throughs on holiday spending, and the newest card-network snapshots have been constructive at the top line:
- Visa reported U.S. holiday spending up 4.2% year over year (its monitor is not inflation-adjusted), and said in-store spending represented 73% of holiday payment volume, with e-commerce up notably. [7]
- Mastercard SpendingPulse reported U.S. retail sales (excluding auto) up 3.9% year over year from Nov. 1 through Dec. 21, with e-commerce growth outpacing in-store growth. [8]
- Reuters summarized both data sets as pointing to roughly 4% U.S. holiday retail sales growth, with shoppers staying value-conscious while still spending on categories like electronics and apparel. [9]
None of this is a direct “Target earnings beat,” but it reinforces the idea that the holiday season held up—an input investors often use to handicap Target’s near-term comparable-sales trajectory.
After-hours calm doesn’t mean investors are complacent: options tell a different story
Even with after-hours trading mostly unchanged, the derivatives market suggested investors were not uniformly bullish.
A widely circulated options note showed unusually heavy options volume in Target with puts leading calls, producing a put/call ratio of 2.75 versus a typical level closer to 1.64. Implied volatility was described as near the lower end of its one-year range, but skew “steepened,” signaling increased demand for downside protection. [10]
How to read that before the next open:
- Price action: solid up day (+2.36%), stable after-hours
- Positioning signal: investors still paying up (relatively) for protection
- Practical implication: optimism about the market tape can coexist with skepticism about retail execution and margins
The most relevant “today” analyst chatter: execution risk is still the theme
One of the more pointed pieces of retailer-specific analysis circulating is that competitive pressure remains intense.
A Wolfe Research note distributed via TheFly said its channel checks suggested Walmart continued to outperform Target across many trade areas, and that a website/app outage plus regional distribution disruptions prompted Wolfe to trim its Q4 same-store sales estimate by 25 basis points. Wolfe maintained an Underperform rating and an $81 price target. [11]
Whether you agree or not, this type of commentary matters because it frames what can move the stock next: not just “holiday demand,” but Target’s ability to convert demand into profitable sales (inventory, in-stocks, fulfillment, labor, and promotions).
Forecasts and price targets: what Wall Street is implying into 2026
Across widely followed consensus trackers, expectations remain mixed—important context as TGT trades well below its 52-week highs.
- MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of “Hold” based on 36 analyst ratings, with an average 12‑month price target of $102.62 (about mid-single-digit upside from the mid‑$96 area). The range is wide ($80 to $150), underscoring disagreement on the magnitude of a turnaround. [12]
- Investing.com lists 33 analysts with an average target around $97.21, labeling the consensus view as “Neutral” and showing a target range of $63 to $130. It also lists a 52‑week trading range of $83.44 to $145.08. [13]
The spread between these consensus sets isn’t unusual—platforms differ on which analysts are included and how “fresh” targets are—but both reinforce the same point: the Street is not in agreement that Target is a clean, high-confidence rebound story yet.
The strategic backdrop investors are weighing: CEO transition is close
Target’s CEO succession is no longer a distant headline—it’s a near-term corporate milestone.
Target previously announced that Michael Fiddelke (currently chief operating officer) will become CEO effective Feb. 1, 2026, while Brian Cornell transitions to executive chair of the board. [14]
That date matters for TGT stock because the market tends to re-price retailers around:
- “Day one” strategy signals (merchandising, store experience, digital simplification)
- restructuring pace and cost discipline
- whether early wins show up in traffic and comps (and at what margin)
What to know before the market opens again (Friday, Dec. 26)
Here are the biggest TGT-specific and market-wide factors to keep on the radar ahead of the next U.S. session:
1) Liquidity will still be a story
Today’s session was holiday-shortened, and overall market trading was notably light. Thin liquidity can magnify both upswings and downdrafts, especially in discretionary retail names. [15]
2) Holiday spending “held up,” but margin questions remain
Card-network data points to a roughly 4% holiday sales gain, with e-commerce growth outpacing in-store growth and strong demand pockets in electronics and apparel. [16]
For Target, the market will likely keep asking: did sales require heavy discounting (and therefore weaker gross margin), or did merchandising and inventory allow cleaner sell-through?
3) Options skew suggests investors want protection
The elevated put/call ratio and downside skew signal that even as the stock bounced Wednesday, traders were still hedging. That can matter on Friday: if the tape weakens, hedged investors may be quicker to sell; if the tape strengthens, hedges can also fuel “relief” upside as protection gets unwound. [17]
4) Competitive narrative: Target vs. Walmart remains front and center
Analyst commentary continues to emphasize market share and execution differences between big-box rivals, including recent notes flagging uneven performance across trade areas and lingering operational risk tied to digital disruption. [18]
5) Macro tailwinds are real—but they can turn fast
The broader market is entering the final stretch of 2025 with record closes and expectations for Fed easing in 2026, which can support consumer and retailer multiples. [19]
But the same macro framing cuts both ways: if rate-cut expectations shift or growth fears flare, discretionary retail is often among the first sectors to re-rate.
The bottom line for TGT investors tonight
Target stock delivered a clean Christmas Eve bounce in a market that was already in a risk-on mood, then quietly drifted after-hours—suggesting no late-breaking company news changed the narrative. [20]
What matters before the next open is less about tonight’s pennies of after-hours movement and more about the crosscurrents that remain unresolved:
- encouraging holiday demand signals,
- persistent debate over Target’s execution and market share,
- and a looming CEO handoff that could reshape strategy—and investor patience—starting Feb. 1, 2026. [21]
References
1. stockanalysis.com, 2. public.com, 3. www.nyse.com, 4. www.nasdaq.com, 5. www.reuters.com, 6. apnews.com, 7. usa.visa.com, 8. www.mastercard.com, 9. www.reuters.com, 10. www.tipranks.com, 11. www.tipranks.com, 12. www.marketbeat.com, 13. www.investing.com, 14. corporate.target.com, 15. apnews.com, 16. www.reuters.com, 17. www.tipranks.com, 18. www.tipranks.com, 19. www.reuters.com, 20. stockanalysis.com, 21. www.reuters.com
