Celsius, e.l.f. Beauty, Deckers See Stocktwits Activity Spike As Retail Sales Data Show Modest Uptick

Consumer and retail stocks recorded some gains on Monday after a modest uptick in U.S. retail sales allayed fears of a full-blown spending pullback.

Official data showed retail sales increased 0.2% month on month in February, better than the downwardly revised decline of 1.2% in the prior month. 

The figure, however, came in below a 0.6% growth estimate from Reuters.

Online retailers and health and personal care stores saw gains last month, while sales in sectors like automobiles, electronics, furniture, and clothing declined.

Additionally, spending at restaurants and bars decreased, indicating a more cautious approach to discretionary spending.

The figures point to weak consumer spending trends, although there’s no sign of a severe pullback. Consumer stocks gained, which was in line with the broader market.

Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP), which tracks stocks of companies that produce staple goods like food and drugs, rose 1.46%. 

Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY), which tracks discretionary stocks, gained a modest 0.16%.

On Stocktwits, Celsius Holdings Inc (CELH), e.l.f. Beauty Inc. (ELF), Deckers Outdoor Corp. (DECK), and Lululemon Athletica Inc. (LULU) saw the highest chatter growth among retail stocks in the past 24 hours. Message volume grew between 1,400% and 2,200%.

Stocktwits trends indicated that retail investors favored consumer staple stocks over discretionary names like automakers and luxury brands. Sentiment for staples (XLP) ticked a point higher in the ‘bullish’ zone, while discretionary stocks (XLY) edged a point lower into ‘neutral’ territory from the previous day.

A user posted that Target Corp (TGT), a mass-market retailer, is exhibiting a bullish pattern, and a breakout above $120 could lead to a further upside.

Similarly, several users posted bullish commentary for discount retailer Dollar General (DG), with one putting the target as $120.

On Monday, the S&P 500 (SPX) ended 0.64% higher, a second consecutive session of gains. The benchmark index is down 3.86% year-to-date.