ROST (Long)...

Ross Stores is a mid-cap retailer dealing primarily in apparel and home accessories. It has a market cap of ~$5.3B and operates nearly 1,000 stores nationwide (over ~30 states), mostly under the Ross Dress for Less brand. It had a huge surge in volume in December as it was added to the S&P 500.

Fundamentally, ROST was 1/2 stocks to score strong or some interest on five screens. It scored over 90% on the Peter Lynch and Warren Buffett screens, over 80% on the Joel Greenblatt and John Neff screens, and over 70% on the Kenneth Fisher and James O'Shaughnessey screens.

ROST doesn't report earnings again until March. It pays a small dividend of ~1%.

Technically, ROST looks to be approaching a low-risk buy point at the 200-day EMA, currently just under $42. I would also look for $40 to provide round-number support and I would look for $50 to act as resistance for the time being.

ROST is optionable, but the chain is thinner in terms of open interest and volume than I would like. The bid/ask spreads are wider than I would like, too. However, the strikes are not too far apart, which is nice. I like the February $37.50's as a potential starter for a call spread. The March options are not listed yet, otherwise I would probably look to go with those.



Position: none

Disclaimer: This is not a recommendation and is presented for informational purposes only.