The Week Ahead: February Wraps With Retailers' Reports

Jeremy Glaser: It's a busy week as February wraps up.

Several retailers are on tap. Macy's has struggled recently but did see an uptick in comparable sales growth in November and December. Analyst Bridget Weishaar, however, thinks this was a sign of a healthy retail environment and not of any company-specific initiatives.

Narrow-moat TJX, parent of TJ Maxx and Marshalls, had flat comparable sales in the third quarter, but Weishaar thinks that was due to short-term issues and sees the firm as undervalued today.

Best Buy has been on a roll recently, helped by key product cycles, an improving housing market, and steps to improve its operations. R.J. Hottovy thinks the market is too optimistic about the near-term good news and sees shares as overvalued today.

Other retailers reporting include Lowe's, Gap, and Kohl's. Booking Holdings (formerly Priceline Group) Express Scripts, and Discovery Communications are also due.

Thursday is the key day for data with personal consumption and its underlying inflation gauge; the ISM index; and auto sales due. Other reports to watch out for include the second estimate of fourth-quarter GDP; durable goods orders; new and pending home sales; and the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index.