Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Trading Up 1.5% – Here’s Why

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT)’s share price rose 1.5% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $119.41 and last traded at $119.14. Approximately 21,580,465 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 45,415,586 shares. The stock had previously closed at $117.41.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Leadership change signals digital focus — John Furner will become CEO of Walmart Inc. on Feb. 1, a move markets interpret as a deliberate shift to accelerate Walmart’s digital footprint and omnichannel execution, which could support long‑term revenue and margin expansion. Walmart’s Choice for New CEO Signals Intent to Expand Digital Footprint
• Positive Sentiment: Scale and top-line strength — a recent review highlights Walmart generated roughly $681 billion in revenue in fiscal 2025 (about $1.87B/day), underscoring the company’s dominant scale that supports bargaining power, assortment investment, and steady cash flow. Walmart’s $611 Billion Annual Revenue: Breaking Down $1.7 Billion Per Day
• Positive Sentiment: Front‑line investment in pharmacy staff — Walmart is boosting pay and elevating about 3,000 pharmacy roles, which should help reduce turnover, improve service in a high‑margin category, and support healthcare strategy. That operational investment is viewed positively for execution and customer experience. Walmart boosting pay potential for pharmacy technicians, elevates 3,000 roles
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitive landscape remains intense — coverage highlights ongoing competition between Walmart and Amazon across grocery and healthcare, a reminder that pricing and logistics arms races could pressure margins even as Walmart scales services. Amazon, Walmart Fight War on 2 Fronts: Grocery and Healthcare
• Neutral Sentiment: Merchandising promotions — brands like Cate & Chloe are featuring product assortments on Walmart.com for seasonal gifting (Valentine’s), which supports e‑commerce assortment and marketing but is not material alone. Cate & Chloe Highlights Valentine’s Day Hoop Earrings Available at Walmart
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader retail PR and community efforts — unrelated consumer goods relief efforts (e.g., P&G storm relief) reflect sector-wide CSR activity; positive for brand but limited direct impact on Walmart’s near‑term financials. PROCTER & GAMBLE BRINGS RELIEF TO MISSISSIPPI RESIDENTS AFFECTED BY SEVERE WINTER STORM

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, December 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $128.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Mizuho set a $125.00 price target on Walmart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $129.00 price objective (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, January 5th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.37.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $949.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $114.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.03.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The retailer reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 3.26%.The company had revenue of $179.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Donna Morris sold 9,384 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total transaction of $1,127,862.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 536,312 shares in the company, valued at $64,459,339.28. The trade was a 1.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.65, for a total transaction of $746,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,535,221.85. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 135,215 shares of company stock valued at $15,304,608 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,868,000 after acquiring an additional 21,939 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 50,307 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,416,000 after buying an additional 1,715 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,008 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cliftonlarsonallen Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Walmart by 18.3% during the second quarter. Cliftonlarsonallen Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,548 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,009,000 after acquiring an additional 3,175 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.