Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Stock Price Down 3.9% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Walmart shares fell 3.9% on Wednesday, closing well below the prior day’s level as trading volume jumped 54% above average. The stock hit an intraday low of $107.25 before ending at $108.82.
• Recent articles point to a mixed outlook: positive growth in Walmart Connect and the AI assistant Sparky suggests improving digital and margin performance, but concerns about slowing U.S. comparable sales are weighing on the stock.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $138.85, even as one firm downgraded the stock to hold. Walmart also recently posted revenue above estimates and met EPS expectations in its latest quarter.

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 3.9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $107.25 and last traded at $108.82. 40,233,716 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 54% from the average session volume of 26,129,074 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.26.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart Connect appears to be becoming a more important margin driver as ad growth, seller spending and e-commerce gains improve the company’s profit mix. Is Walmart Connect Becoming a Bigger Margin Driver for WMT?
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s AI assistant, Sparky, is seeing rising usage and helping drive larger digital baskets, suggesting stronger engagement and potential support for online sales. Walmart's Sparky Usage Doubles: Is AI Driving Bigger Orders?
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is helping seniors navigate Medicare coverage for obesity drugs, reinforcing its role in healthcare-related services and customer support. Healthy Returns: Walmart, CVS step in to help seniors navigate Medicare coverage of obesity drugs
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart continues to attract investor attention, but these articles do not add a major new catalyst beyond ongoing interest in the stock. Walmart Inc. (WMT) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary also highlighted valuation concerns, with investors weighing Walmart’s rich multiple against its e-commerce and store investment potential. Walmart (WMT) Stock Weighs Rich Valuation Against E-Commerce And Store Investment Potential
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say U.S. comparable sales growth may be slowing, which raises concern that Walmart’s core retail momentum is cooling. Walmart Shares Slip Amid Sales Slowdown Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Cleveland Research flagged softer U.S. comparable sales, adding to pressure on the stock and reinforcing the selloff narrative. WMT Stock Sinks To Near Eight-Month Low — Cleveland Research Flags Slowing Sales

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank lowered Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $137.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 11th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $138.85.

Walmart Trading Down 3.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $866.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $123.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.22.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total value of $1,308,670.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 120,203 shares in the company, valued at $14,300,550.91. The trade was a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,385 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.83, for a total value of $165,964.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 633,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,946,336.72. The trade was a 0.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 100,730 shares of company stock valued at $12,444,624. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,458,529,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 188.1% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,199,907,000 after acquiring an additional 7,614,172 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after acquiring an additional 6,517,394 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $592,848,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer's stock worth $49,015,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,436 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

About Walmart

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.

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