Boycott Decreased Stock Prices of Target Due to their Policy About Transgender

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A series of unbelievable articles were published in the last week of April 2016 by some traditional outlets such as MRCTV, Freedom Outpost and Breitbart. All these websites reported that stock of Target was suffering due to boycott by customers about the policy of Target outlets. Target allowed the transgender customers to use the restroom after showing their gender identity. At least one million Target customers have signed the boycott against the company regarding their policy for changing room and bathroom. The situation raised questions that would the prices at Target be dropped due to boycott? Would it create a breakdown to stock prices? What would be the expected negative effects on the stock of Target due to boycott?

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On 19th April 2016, Target had confirmed its commitment and the boycott against Target stores announced one day before Target’s confirmation, by the American Family Association. During this time period, a stock chart of Target showed a significant decline in the stock price after the announcement by Target about their policy regarding permission for transgender customers to use restroom and bathroom. But, the chart didn’t show that boycott was the major reason that caused this significant decline in the stock price of Target. A detailed search provided explanation that stock prices of Target showed decline dozens of times over the past year due to various different reasons, so we cannot tie up this decline to any specific event. But, it should be considered an incident that stock price of Target dropped at the same time when a boycott petition was filed.