For Immediate Release Chicago, IL – May 17, 2016 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT), Home Depot (HD), Target (TGT), Wal-Mart (WMT) and Gap (GPS). Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free. Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog: Retail Stocks to Watch for Earnings This Week: HD, WMT, TGT, GPS Our reports will likely be closely watched by investors given that the retail ETF ( XRT) has really struggled in the past month, and is testing a double digit loss in the time frame. This sluggish trend is largely thanks to the threat of online competition, as well as changing consumer tastes. In general, investors are starting to worry about the long term health of a number of retail companies, putting the pressure on this earnings report in particular. First up is Home Depot (HD), a company that has survived the online trends pretty well over the past few years. We take a look at this stock’s incredible history in earnings season, and discuss its prospects for its report on Tuesday. We also have Target (TGT) in focus. This company was recently upgraded to hold territory from ‘sell’, but a boycott of the company’s stores is likely to weigh on shares in the near term. Any commentary about this issue—which is already starting to have an impact on the stock price—looks to be the focus this earnings season. Next up is the retail behemoth of Wal-Mart (WMT) which reports before the bell on Thursday. This retailing giant has been in trouble thanks to rising cost pressure, and we take a look at recent analyst estimates in this stock and how this could set up the short-term future for Wal-Mart shares. And finally, Gap (GPS) gives their quarterly report as well. This company has tumbled along with the rest of the apparel-retail market, and analysts have been racing to slash estimates. We take a look at the rough trend and discuss if there is much hope for this company at its report on Thursday after the bell. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >> About Zacks Equity Research Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term. Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons. Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today. Find out What is happening in the stock market today on zacks.com. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report SPDR-SP RET ETF (XRT): ETF Research Reports HOME DEPOT (HD): Free Stock Analysis Report TARGET CORP (TGT): Free Stock Analysis Report GAP INC (GPS): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.