Walmart Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:WMT)

Key Points

• Walmart saw unusually heavy options activity on Friday, with investors buying 174,648 call options, about 43% above the average daily volume.
• Shares rose 1.8% to $119.90, while the company remains below its 50-day average price of $125.70 and has a market cap of about $954 billion.
• Recent news around Walmart is mostly positive, including 30-minute express delivery from in-store Subway restaurants, though there are also headwinds such as a downgrade from Erste Group and a new class-action lawsuit in Massachusetts.

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 174,648 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 43% compared to the average daily volume of 122,456 call options.

Walmart Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Walmart stock traded up $2.16 on Friday, reaching $119.90. 13,919,362 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,322,297. The firm has a market capitalization of $954.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.59. Walmart has a fifty-two week low of $93.43 and a fifty-two week high of $135.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $125.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.09.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.66. The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.Walmart's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $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, analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total transaction of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,230,306.77. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.96, for a total value of $1,600,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 687,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at $83,821,522.52. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 117,008 shares of company stock worth $14,492,704 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $19,046,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,364 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 6.8% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,526,238,000 after acquiring an additional 328,229 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart launched express delivery from in-store Subway restaurants, letting customers order freshly made meals through the Walmart app or website and receive them in as little as 30 minutes. The move adds a new convenience offering, broadens basket size potential, and could help Walmart capture more meal-budget spending. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and media coverage framed the Subway partnership as another step in Walmart’s competition with Amazon and other delivery players, highlighting its use of an existing driver network to expand faster-delivery services. That supports the view that Walmart can keep building higher-frequency, higher-margin services. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart reported preliminary annual shareholder voting results and said nearly 89.9% of outstanding shares were represented, with management again emphasizing strong FY26 results and the company’s omnichannel retail model. The update is supportive, but largely confirms existing investor expectations. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholders rejected a proposal asking Walmart to disclose AI’s impact on workers’ safety and well-being. The vote removes a governance overhang, but it is unlikely to move the stock much on its own. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group Bank AG downgraded Walmart from “buy” to “hold,” which could cap upside after the recent run in the shares. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A new class action lawsuit over Walmart’s hiring practices in Massachusetts raises legal and compliance risk, which can weigh on investor sentiment even if the financial impact is still unclear. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. Argus upgraded Walmart to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $137.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 11th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $150.00 price objective on Walmart in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Freedom Capital upgraded Walmart from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $120.00 price objective on Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. One 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.85.

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.

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