A day after Canton, Mass.-based electronics retailer Tweeter
Home Entertainment Group Inc. filed Chapter 11, another Massachusetts retailer
could be in trouble: TJX Cos. The Framingham, Mass., parent of TJ Maxx,
Marshalls and Bob's is reeling from a series of lawsuits involving a security
breach that allowed hackers to steal customer data including debit card
information. So far, the company is facing 29 lawsuits, according to
Securities and Exchange Commission document sleuth
Michelle
Leder of blog footnoted.org. TJX stock was trading near $30 a share at the
start of the year, but after the February announcement about the security
breach, the company's stock price has sagged. When the first volley of
lawsuits was launched in March, the stock bottomed out at $26 per share, but
since then it has regained ground and closed Monday at $27.98 a share.
Nonetheless, the stock is nowhere near analysts' targets of $32.64 a share,
making it a takeover candidate, especially considering private equity's
appetite for retailers. In addition,
SeekingAlpha's
May 8 post suggests that TJX is retaining customers despite the breach, in
which case the discounter looks even more attractive. —Matthew
Wurtzel
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