Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Stock Price Up 3.5% – What’s Next?

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) rose 3.5% on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $130.94 and last traded at $129.17. 29,167,069 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 18% from the average daily volume of 24,816,875 shares. The stock had previously closed at $124.86.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart was among retailers leading a rally following the Democrats’ sweep of Congress. The move points to a favorable shift in market sentiment toward retail, though the article does not identify a specific Walmart-related policy catalyst. Walmart, Target, and Dollar Tree lead retail rally
• Positive Sentiment: Exchange-traded funds bought $152.6 million of WMT shares on Nov. 2, potentially providing near-term demand for the stock. Walmart sees $152.6 million in net ETF buying
• Positive Sentiment: A report describes Walmart as participating in a $6 billion Symbotic deal to automate warehouses. Automation could improve operating efficiency over time, though the headline provides limited details about costs and expected returns. Walmart in $6B Symbotic deal to automate warehouses
• Neutral Sentiment: EVP Daniel Bartlett sold 3,346 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, while retaining more than 615,000 shares. The planned, relatively small sale is not necessarily a signal about the company’s outlook. Walmart EVP sells shares
• Negative Sentiment: AI shopping agents could threaten Walmart’s lucrative advertising business and the customer data that supports it, creating a strategic challenge as retailers adapt their websites for agent-led shopping. AI shopping agents could threaten Walmart’s ad business
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary flags WMT’s high valuation—around 45 times earnings—and the possibility that management’s prior warning of a slowdown could weigh on investor expectations ahead of its next report. Should you buy Walmart stock before Nov. 19?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WMT. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Walmart to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 price objective (down from $146.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Walmart from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $132.41.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $1.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.63, a PEG ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $118.46.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business 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. Equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Suresh Kumar sold 166,342 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.21, for a total value of $20,494,997.82. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,632,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,106,195.83. The trade was a 9.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel Bartlett sold 3,346 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.51, for a total value of $416,610.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 615,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,575,268.63. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold a total of 268,222 shares of company stock worth $31,604,051 in the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Compton Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Compton Financial Group LLC now owns 2,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,443 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,162,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Kassira Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kassira Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,538 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,199,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Bernicke Wealth Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Walmart by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bernicke Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 12,548 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBE Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. MBE Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,306 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $967,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc (NASDAQ:WMT) operates a global retail business through a network of supercenters, supermarkets, discount stores, neighborhood markets, warehouse clubs and e-commerce platforms. Its stores and websites sell a broad assortment of merchandise, including groceries, consumables, health and wellness products, apparel, electronics, home goods, toys and other general merchandise.

The company organizes its operations into Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam’s Club U.S. Walmart U.S.