Morgan Stanley Maintains Equal-Weight on TJX Companies (TJX)

Morgan Stanley is out with its report today on TJX Companies TJX, maintaining Equal-weight. In a note to clients, Morgan Stanley writes, "We believe the share price will rise relative to the industry over the next 60 days. This is because the stock has traded off recently, making short term valuation much more compelling. We think Tuesday's pullback represents an attractive entry point on a defensive name. We note May is the toughest compare of 2Q and May's comp guidance (+2-3%) above June (0-2%) and July's (1-3%) underscores TJX's conservatism and additional opportunity in the quarter to return to its beat and raise story. In light of the sector's YTD outperformance (+9% vs. S&P 500's +6%) and its seasonal trend of underperforming the market through the summer, we think TJX's momentum going forward should support the stock when most other names in our group could pull back, making this a relative near-term outperformer." Shares of TJX closed Tuesday at $52.06.