Goldman Sachs Reiterates Buy Rating on Costco Wholesale (COST)

Goldman Sachs is out with a research report this morning, where it reiterates its Buy rating on Costco Wholesale COST; it has a $71.00 price target on the stock. The GS analysts said that they are expecting a beat to consensus Q1 earnings on Wednesday, saying that they expect the EPS release to deliver important data that supports their Buy rating. This includes: 1) Improving fundamentals with key elements moving in the right direction, and 2) Potential catalysts in 2011. As for valuation, the analysts remarked, “With the above catalysts not yet in our estimates, we maintain our Buy rating. Our $71 12-m price tgt is based on 9.0X EV/NTM EBITDA (equal to 3-yr avg).”