Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Trading 1.4% Higher – Should You Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT)’s share price shot up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $113.86 and last traded at $113.10. 18,315,389 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the average daily volume of 26,074,246 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.54.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s broad price cuts on food and seasonal items are being viewed as a traffic-driving move that could help it win more grocery share and support sales momentum. Walmart stock gains after price cuts as analysts back grocery strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer calling the recent selloff an “incredible buying opportunity” is adding to the bullish tone around the stock. Jim Cramer calls Walmart selloff an ‘incredible buying opportunity,’ says fears ‘have gone out the window’
• Positive Sentiment: Several pieces frame Walmart as a high-quality blue-chip retailer with resilient revenue trends, which can attract investors seeking safety in volatile markets. 3 Blue-Chip Retail Stocks to Trust as Volatility Favors Quality
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparisons of Walmart and Target’s revenue consistency and scale reinforce Walmart’s strong operating model, but do not appear to add a new catalyst by themselves. Walmart and Target: Comparing Revenue Consistency and Scale
• Neutral Sentiment: Ongoing political attention around price cuts, including praise from President Trump, is boosting visibility for the stock, though it is not clear that it changes fundamentals on its own. President Trump says Walmart will lower prices by ‘a lot’ — but the retail beast has already been slashing prices
• Negative Sentiment: Legal headlines are a modest overhang: Walmart settled a Texas driver-pay case and now faces a new California AI-related class action, which could add reputational and legal costs. Walmart (WMT) Pays $13 Million To Settle Driver Pay Case As New AI Suit Lands
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent commentary notes that the stock has pulled back from its highs, reflecting lingering concern about whether aggressive discounting can keep supporting margin performance. It’s Grocery Wars. Walmart Cuts Food Prices, but Shoppers Are Fed Up.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Freedom Capital upgraded Walmart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group set a $141.00 price target on Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.85.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $900.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.60.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total value of $1,308,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 120,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,300,550.91. This represents a 8.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were 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 $69,074,186.76. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 104,505 shares of company stock worth $12,858,514 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Victrix Investment Advisors increased its stake in Walmart by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors now owns 46,820 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,303,000 after buying an additional 2,370 shares during the period. TrueWealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.1% in the second quarter. TrueWealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,716 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,460,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Puff Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the second quarter valued at approximately $245,000. Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 39.1% during the second quarter. Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC now owns 9,057 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 2,547 shares during the period. Finally, Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.7% during the second quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 36,997 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,026,000 after acquiring an additional 636 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.