Target’s stock dropped again on Thursday, bringing the total loss to almost $13 billion amid a conservative boycott of the retail giant.
Conservatives have been boycotting Target over the company’s Pride collection, which featured LGBTQ-themed items for children — and some pieces designed by a controversial artist who regularly creates pro-Satanism imagery.
Shares in the company have fallen 20% during the quarter.
Fox Business reports, “Target finished down another 0.4% when the market closed, leaving shares worth $131.27 after eclipsing $161 just last month.”
“Since the backlash, Target’s market cap has fallen roughly $13 billion to $60.06 billion as of Thursday closing price,” the report continued. “Target’s market value was over $74 billion before the polarizing Pride displays made national news, as tracked by Dow Jones Market Data Group.”
Target is no longer only facing backlash from the right, but from the left as well — as many LGBTQ activists and organizations have condemned the company for pulling some of the controversial items from its shelves. They believed that the company should have stood firm and refused to capitulate, while suffering the boycott losses.
Target recently pulled items from a company called Abprallen, which included “We Belong Everywhere” messenger bags, “Too Queer For Here” messenger bags, and “Cure Transphobia, Not Trans People” sweatshirts. The company is known to make pro-drug and pro-satan merchandise, though those were not among Target’s Pride Month offerings.
The report notes that “KeyBanc Capital Markets on Monday cut the retailer’s shares to ‘sector weight’ from ‘overweight’ as the resumption of student loan payments stipulated by Congress’ debt ceiling agreement poses a sizable headwind for discretionary spending for shoppers, which has an elevated discretionary sales mix and a younger, college-educated core consumer demographic.”
JPMorgan Chase & Co. has also downgraded the stock from “overweight” to “neutral.”
The Target boycott began shortly after Bud Light was hit with one for partnering with transgender influencer and activist Dylan Mulvaney.
Bud Light was hit so hard that it is no longer considered America’s top-selling beer, losing the spot to Modello, according to reports on June 8.
The Drinks Business reports that “NielsenIQ sales data also seen by the publication revealed Modelo Especial’s sales were around US$341.9 million compared to Bud Light’s US$298.6 million in a similar four-week period.”
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