Macy’s stock rises: analyst call and inflation data set the next test

New York, Feb 11, 2026, 15:04 EST — Regular session

Macy’s clawed back roughly 2.5% in afternoon trading, snapping out of its latest slump.
Gordon Haskett kept its Hold on the stock and stuck with a $22 target, Investing.com data showed.
Eyes are on Friday’s U.S. inflation numbers, with Macy’s early-March earnings update also on the radar for investors.

Shares of Macy’s Inc climbed 2.5% to $21.51 Wednesday afternoon, having hit $21.82 earlier. Roughly 3.3 million shares changed hands.

This shift is significant: investors are weighing just how fast U.S. inflation drops, with an eye on how that might ripple through shoppers’ discretionary budgets and pressure retailers to push more deals. Eyes now turn to Friday’s upcoming U.S. Consumer Price Index report.

Retail as a whole held steady, making Macy’s action stand out as a name-specific story. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF barely budged.

Gordon Haskett stuck with its Hold on Macy’s, holding the $22 target, according to Investing.com’s analyst table update from Feb. 11.

Macy’s hasn’t announced when it will report earnings next, but Wall Street analysts expect the release to land in early March, drawing from last year’s calendar, per MarketBeat.

Macy’s lifted its full-year outlook in its most recent quarterly update, pointing to expectations that consumers would stay “more choiceful” heading into the holidays. “Results are resonating with customers,” chief executive Tony Spring said in the third-quarter statement. Q4 CDN

There’s also the structural drag. Macy’s remains in the thick of a multi-year overhaul, shutting down stores through 2026—just a slice of the larger slate of retail closures lined up for this year.

Still, things can turn fast. If Friday’s inflation data runs hot, those worries about squeezed consumer budgets come right back, slicing into department store margins as steeper discounts bite.

Kohl’s jumped roughly 7.6%, while Dillard’s tacked on 0.7% as the afternoon session wore on.

Short bets have edged higher lately, too. Macy’s short interest climbed in mid-January, according to settlement figures from MarketBeat.

Looking ahead, all eyes turn to Friday’s CPI report, set for 8:30 a.m. ET. Investors are also waiting to see if Macy’s provides a schedule for its quarterly numbers and offers fresh commentary on spring demand.

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Khadija Saeed is a financial markets reporter at TS2.tech, specializing in stocks, technology and emerging industries. She studied economics and finance at the London School of Economics and previously worked in market research before moving into financial journalism. Her coverage focuses on the companies, innovations and economic trends influencing global investors. Follow Khadija Saeed on Google News.

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