Ross Stores Slides as Recent Analyst Downgrade and Profit-Taking Weigh on Shares

Ross Stores (ROST) is down 5.5% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The most likely driver appears to be a mix of a recent analyst downgrade and profit-taking after a strong run following Ross Stores’ upbeat first-quarter results. There does not appear to be a major new company announcement today, so the selloff may reflect investors turning more cautious after the stock’s recent strength.

Details:

Ross Stores was recently downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight by a major Wall Street firm, which can pressure sentiment even when the broader long-term view on the company remains constructive.

The company’s latest quarterly results were very strong, with sales, comparable-store sales, and earnings all ahead of its prior guidance, and management raised its fiscal 2026 outlook.

After that earnings-driven rally, shares had been trading near recent highs, which can make a stock more vulnerable to pullbacks when expectations become harder to beat.

This could also be because investors are reassessing how much upside remains for off-price retail names after a strong stretch, especially with retail sentiment shifting quickly from week to week.

Sources:

Ross Stores Investor Relations, SEC, MarketBeat

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$ROST Insider Trading Activity

$ROST insiders have traded $ROST stock on the open market 8 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 8 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $ROST stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

MICHAEL J. HARTSHORN (GROUP PRESIDENT, COO) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 21,874 shares for an estimated $4,698,514.
KAREN SYKES (PRESIDENT, CMO DD'S DISCOUNTS) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 8,062 shares for an estimated $1,721,738.
KAREN FLEMING (PRES, CMO ROSS DRESS FOR LESS) sold 7,000 shares for an estimated $1,489,285
WILLIAM W II SHEEHAN (EVP, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER) sold 4,883 shares for an estimated $1,059,367
STEPHEN C BRINKLEY (PRESIDENT, OPERATIONS) sold 4,154 shares for an estimated $884,428
PATRICIA H MUELLER sold 1,881 shares for an estimated $400,897

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard. You can access data on insider stock transactions through the Quiver Quantitative API insider transaction endpoint.

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$ROST Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 731 institutional investors add shares of $ROST stock to their portfolio, and 509 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

WELLINGTON MANAGEMENT GROUP LLP added 3,345,805 shares (+2211.6%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $716,320,121
VIKING GLOBAL INVESTORS LP removed 3,167,479 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $678,141,416
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO removed 3,151,541 shares (-24.5%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $567,718,595
T. ROWE PRICE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, INC. removed 2,257,597 shares (-56.1%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $406,683,523
TWO SIGMA INVESTMENTS, LP added 2,179,067 shares (+344.1%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $466,527,349
VOYA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LLC added 1,513,410 shares (+1589.8%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $324,013,513
FIRST EAGLE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, LLC removed 1,448,358 shares (-98.9%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $310,086,206

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard. You can access data on hedge funds moves and 13F filings through the Quiver Quantitative API 13F endpoint.

$ROST Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $ROST in the last several months. We have seen 2 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

Wells Fargo issued a "Overweight" rating on 05/22/2026
Citigroup issued a "Buy" rating on 02/10/2026

To track analyst ratings and price targets for $ROST, check out Quiver Quantitative's $ROST forecast page.

$ROST Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $ROST recently. We have seen 10 analysts offer price targets for $ROST in the last 6 months, with a median target of $248.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Ike Boruchow from Wells Fargo set a target price of $245.0 on 06/23/2026
Adrienne Yih from Barclays set a target price of $260.0 on 05/26/2026
Joseph Civello from Truist Securities set a target price of $290.0 on 05/22/2026
Jay Sole from UBS set a target price of $232.0 on 05/22/2026
Paul Lejuez from Citigroup set a target price of $270.0 on 05/22/2026
Dana Telsey from Telsey Advisory Group set a target price of $265.0 on 05/22/2026
Matthew Boss from JP Morgan set a target price of $251.0 on 05/18/2026

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.