Target, Merck, and Schwab Stocks Surge to Yearly Highs on Positive Earnings and Hiked Price Targets

The stock prices of Target Corp. (TGT), Merck & Co Inc. (MRK), and Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) surged to their highest levels in a year last week.

TGT shares jumped 4.5% on Friday after several Wall Street firms raised their price targets following the company's strong Q2 earnings results.

Analysts at Telsey Advisory, Deutsche Bank, BMO Capital, and RBC Capital were among those who hiked their target prices for Target stock, with RBC raising its target to $178 from $166.

TGT posted adjusted earnings per share of $2.46 on $26.54 billion in revenue, beating analyst consensus estimates.

Meanwhile, MRK stock gained more than 2% at close as positive clinical trial momentum for its oncology portfolio drove retail interest and attracted Wall Street optimism.

The uptick followed Phase 3 INTerpath-001 trial results, which showed that Merck's Intismeran Autogene plus Keytruda significantly improved recurrence-free and distant metastasis-free survival in patients with high-risk melanoma after surgery.

Goldman Sachs raised its price target on MRK to $160 from $140 last week, citing positive Phase 3 melanoma results that validated the personalized mRNA platform and strengthened the case for broader oncology applications.

SCHW stock gained more than 2% as sentiment improved after it posted growth in core net new assets in July and announced an expansion in its India workforce.