Walmart Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:WMT)

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders acquired 166,747 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 33% compared to the average daily volume of 125,242 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total value of $1,435,203.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,985,527.94. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,230,306.77. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 57,064 shares of company stock worth $6,697,788 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisortrust Partners LLC raised its position in Walmart by 20.2% in the 1st quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC now owns 67,142 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,344,000 after purchasing an additional 11,283 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 253.3% in the first quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 384,034 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $47,728,000 after buying an additional 275,337 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,416,580 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $300,333,000 after acquiring an additional 68,632 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 42.1% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 275,341 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,676,000 after acquiring an additional 81,635 shares during the period. Finally, HORAN Wealth LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 55.7% in the first quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 81,544 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,931,000 after purchasing an additional 29,184 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $113.00 price target on Walmart in a research report on Friday. BNP Paribas Exane reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $137.00 price objective (down from $146.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Mizuho set a $130.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.88.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock traded up $1.43 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $105.12. The company had a trading volume of 18,141,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,572,373. Walmart has a one year low of $95.42 and a one year high of $135.15. The firm has a market cap of $836.59 billion, a PE ratio of 37.95, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $113.35 and a 200 day moving average of $121.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart reported revenue of approximately $187.9 billion versus expectations of $186.8 billion and adjusted EPS of $0.81, ahead of the $0.74 consensus estimate. Management also modestly raised full-year expectations, supporting the view that the retailer remains financially resilient. Walmart earnings and consumer spending article
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart-owned Flipkart is reportedly gaining ground on India’s quick-commerce leaders, strengthening the company’s international growth prospects as competition with Amazon intensifies. Flipkart quick-commerce article
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s planned Scenario apparel brand, with most products priced below $25, could attract younger shoppers, improve its fashion credentials and help it compete more directly with Amazon. Walmart Scenario apparel article

Walmart Company Profile

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.