Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Trading 2.7% Higher – Still a Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT)’s share price shot up 2.7% on Monday . The company traded as high as $106.60 and last traded at $106.49. 33,481,408 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 30% from the average daily volume of 25,672,373 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.70.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity suggests increased bullish positioning: investors purchased 166,747 call options, roughly 33% above Walmart’s typical daily call volume.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is rolling out Tap to Pay and NFC contactless checkout across U.S. stores and clubs. The move could improve checkout convenience, support mobile-wallet adoption and strengthen customer engagement as digital sales and membership activity expand. Walmart NFC Rollout Accelerates the Move to Wallet-Based Checkout
• Positive Sentiment: The company is launching Scenario, a fashion brand featuring mostly sub-$25 products, to attract younger shoppers and compete more directly with Amazon in apparel. Walmart Aims to Take On Amazon With Trendier Apparel
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results provided fundamental support: adjusted EPS of $0.81 exceeded the roughly $0.74 consensus, revenue increased nearly 6% to $187.94 billion, and full-year sales guidance was raised to 4%-5% growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart-owned Flipkart is gaining ground against India’s quick-commerce leaders, offering another potential long-term growth avenue. Two years after launch, Walmart’s Flipkart is closing in on India’s quick-commerce leaders

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson set a $132.00 target price on shares of Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Freedom Capital raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $128.00 price objective (down from $137.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.88.

Walmart Trading Up 2.7%

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $113.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $847.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.61.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. The business had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total transaction of $2,303,320.08. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,230,306.77. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total transaction of $413,891.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 630,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,074,186.76. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 57,064 shares of company stock worth $6,697,788 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Walmart by 11,189.0% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 755,604,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $85,579,813,000 after purchasing an additional 748,911,635 shares during the last quarter. Tanager Wealth Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 11.9% in the second quarter. Tanager Wealth Management LLP now owns 5,260 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $596,000 after buying an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Trans Canada Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the second quarter valued at $19,584,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 78.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 140,738 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $15,940,000 after acquiring an additional 61,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,367 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Walmart

Walmart is a multinational retail corporation that operates a broad portfolio of store formats and digital services. Its core business includes large-format supercenters, discount department stores, neighborhood grocery stores and a membership warehouse chain, Sam’s Club. The company’s merchandising mix covers groceries, household goods, apparel, electronics and pharmacy services, supplemented by private-label products and category-specific offerings. Walmart pairs its physical store network with online platforms and mobile applications to provide omnichannel shopping, fulfillment and delivery options for consumers and businesses.

The company was founded by Sam Walton, who opened the first store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962; it is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.