Macy’s ‘Bold New Chapter’ Shows Promising Experiential Progress, But Early Execution Risks Justify Hold Rating

Goldman Sachs analyst Brooke Roach maintained a Hold rating on Macy’s on December 19 and set a price target of $22.00.

Brooke Roach has given his Hold rating due to a combination of factors that balance Macy’s strategic progress with remaining uncertainties. The recent visit to the Herald Square flagship store highlighted clear execution of the “Bold New Chapter” plan, including better-curated assortments, enhanced service levels, and stronger visual merchandising. These initiatives, together with the flagship’s exceptionally high traffic and its role as a marketing and brand-visibility engine, support a more constructive view on Macy’s long-term positioning. In addition, the company’s focus on experiential retail, such as the Thanksgiving Day Parade, Santaland, and other in-store events, is helping drive engagement, dwell time, and conversion, indicating that Macy’s is actively evolving its customer experience.

At the same time, the rating remains at Hold because these improvements, while encouraging, are still in the early stages of broader rollout and must prove durable across different store formats and economic environments. The incremental optimism from recent store tours is tempered by the need to see sustained traffic conversion and margin improvement before taking a more aggressive stance on the stock. Furthermore, while unique experiences and shop-in-shop concepts like Pop Mart and Waterford Crystal are generating buzz and sell-through, it is not yet clear how meaningfully they will change Macy’s overall growth and profitability trajectory. As a result, Roach recognizes the strategic progress but also acknowledges execution and macro risks, leading to a neutral recommendation rather than a clear buy or sell.

In another report released on December 18, Evercore ISI also maintained a Hold rating on the stock with a $21.00 price target.

Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 22 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is negative on the stock. This means that over the past quarter there has been an increase of insiders selling their shares of M in relation to earlier this year.