Apple a buy Goldman says; Target raises outlook; Lowe's posts strong results

Here are some of the stocks the Yahoo Finance team will be tracking for you today.

Target (TGT) raised its outlook for the year after it reported earnings per share that came in right in line with forecasts, while revenue beat estimates. Sales increased 2% from year earlier as its merchandise changes lured in customers and more people shopped online.

Lowe's (LOW) banged out a beat on both its top and bottom lines for the third quarter. Revenue rose 5% from a year earlier as an improvement in the housing market helped boost same-store sales growth.

Staples (SPLS) posted earnings per share that matched analysts' estimates, but revenue missed forecasts falling 6% from a year ago amid competition from online rivals, such as Amazon (AMZN). Staples also said it expects sales in its fourth quarter to decrease from the same period a year earlier.

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Apple (AAPL) in focus after Goldman Sachs added the stock to its conviction buy list with $163 price target, which is 43% higher than yesterday's closing price. Goldman noted that the stock is undervalued by the market as it becomes more a service company than a hardware company.

Citrix Systems (CTXS), the cloud software maker plans to spin off its GoTo products into a separate publicly traded company amid pressure from activist hedge fund Elliott Management. Citrix will also eliminate about 1,000 jobs, or more than 10% of its workforce.

Norfolk Southern (NSC) confirmed it received an unsolicited $28.4 billion takeover offer from Canadian Pacific Railway. However, the U.S. railroad operator didn't sound too impressed about the offer, calling it a "low-premium,” and warning it would face significant regulatory hurdles.