Nieman Marcus Deal Pushes Target Stock Near 52-Week High

Target (NYSE: TGT) stock has been one of the feel-good stories of 2012. And today investors in America’s No. 2 retailer got even more good news.

Target is teaming up with luxury department-store chain Neiman Marcus this holiday season to sell a collection from 24 different American designers, including Diane Von Furstenberg and Tory Burch. The move should only enhance Target’s rapidly growing popularity, giving its shoppers access to a variety of high-end items typically only offered at the luxury department store.

The deal makes sense for Neiman Marcus too, since it will introduce some of its products to a demographic it doesn’t typically reach.

Target stock seemed to respond well to the deal, bouncing 2% today to close at $59.23 a share – just shy of its 52-week high of $59.40 per share. The stock is now up 15.6% for the year.

The Neiman Marcus collection should be another boon for Target’s already thriving sales. The company has grown its profits each of the last three years, and has managed to slowly make up ground on rival Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) – still the nation’s top retailer by a long shot. Target’s market cap has swelled by 68% during that time, rising to just under $40 billion as of today.

Target’s Neiman Marcus collection will run for three weeks during the holidays, starting on Dec. 1.