The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is in the red today, down 1.1% in afternoon trading.
That's less than the 1.9% loss posted by the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). Many blue-chip shares – particularly ASX 200 travel shares – have come under pressure from news of a new COVID variant emerging and spreading out of South Africa.
That's today's price action.
Below we take a look at what put CommBank in the news this week.
Brokers take bearish view on the CBA share price
The CBA share price is down 3% since last Friday's closing bell. This was mostly driven by a 2.1% fall on Monday.
On Monday, the Motley Fool reported on what a number of leading brokers think about CommBank's valuation. And most, as my Foolish colleague Zach Bristow reported, were bearish on the CBA share price.
Goldman Sachs recently cut its price target for CommBank to $81.74. That's almost 14% below the current $94.72 per share. The broker aired concerns that Australia's largest bank could lose market share in its mortgage business to increased competition from the other big banks.
Morgan Stanley and Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) also believe the CBA share price is in for some headwinds, with both brokers having a price target of $87.50. Morgan Stanley lists CommBank's shares as underweight while Macquarie gave the bank an underperform rating, citing, among other issues, the rock-bottom interest rate environment impacting the bank's margins.
What's in store for the Black Friday weekend?
If you're wondering how retail sales might come off over the weekend, CBA had some encouraging news for ASX retail shares yesterday.
According to CommBank's head of consumer and diversified industries in CBA's Business Banking division, Jerry Macey:
The increase in sales in 2020 in comparison to 2019 bodes well for the Black Friday sales this coming weekend. Shoppers across the country are increasingly taking advantage of the recent move towards pre-Christmas discounting and we would expect this trend to continue this year.
CBA share price snapshot
The CBA share price hit all-time highs of $110.13 per share on 8 November. Since then it's retraced by almost 14%, currently trading for $94.72.
Even with that retrace, CBA shares remain up around 15% year-to-date, compared to a 2021 gain of 10% posted by the ASX 200.
