Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Walmart from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI set a $120.00 price objective on Walmart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Thirty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.37.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $114.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $912.82 billion, a PE ratio of 40.05, a P/E/G ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $109.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.77. Walmart has a 1 year low of $79.81 and a 1 year high of $117.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The retailer reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $179.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.15 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.26% and a return on equity of 21.31%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.83, for a total value of $2,171,291.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,315,333 shares in the company, valued at $482,583,689.39. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,425 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.00, for a total transaction of $166,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 641,363 shares in the company, valued at $75,039,471. The trade was a 0.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 125,628 shares of company stock worth $13,690,065. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 397,264.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 104,514,912 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,496,702,000 after acquiring an additional 104,488,610 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the second quarter worth $5,367,770,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 9,648.7% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,486,374 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,123,138,000 after purchasing an additional 11,368,549 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 188.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,907,000 after purchasing an additional 7,614,172 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,817,510 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,223,116,000 after buying an additional 5,856,468 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated its Buy rating on WMT, reinforcing institutional confidence in Walmart’s outlook and supporting demand for the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho raised its price target to $125 (from $115) and kept an Outperform/Overweight view, signaling upward analyst momentum that can boost buying interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo also lifted its target to $130 and remains constructive on Walmart, adding to the analyst support narrative behind the rally. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart launched “Better Care Services,” a digital healthcare platform and lowered prices on some health items — a strategic push that could expand margins and services revenue over time. Analysts are re-assessing valuation with this new health push in mind. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart added Shishir Mehrotra (ex-Grammarly/Superhuman) to its board — a governance move emphasizing AI and e?commerce expertise that investors view as strengthening Walmart’s tech roadmap. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart launched a celebrity fashion line (Millie Bobby Brown) aimed at teens and young women — a branding/merchandising boost but likely modest near-term financial impact. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market coverage notes (Zacks, Kalkine, AmericanBankingNews) show elevated investor attention and a consensus “moderate buy,” which keeps the stock in focus but doesn’t single-handedly move fundamentals. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon received approval to build a 225,000 sq ft Walmart-style supercenter near Chicago that would blend in-store shopping with fulfillment — a clear competitive threat to Walmart’s grocery and omnichannel footprint in key markets. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Deutsche Bank downgraded Walmart from Buy to Hold with a $119 target, signaling some analyst caution (limits upside relative to recent price moves) and adding selling pressure for more risk?sensitive investors. Read More.

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.