Walmart Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:WMT)

Key Points

• Walmart saw unusually heavy options activity on Thursday, with investors buying 172,007 call options—about 52% above the average daily volume—suggesting some traders are betting on more upside.
• Recent coverage highlighted potential growth catalysts, including Walmart’s AI shopping push with Google’s Gemini and the expanding profitability of Walmart Connect, its retail media and advertising business.
• Despite these positives, some reports flagged slowing U.S. comparable sales and margin pressure from price cuts and tariff refunds, even as analysts broadly remain constructive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating.

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors purchased 172,007 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 52% compared to the average daily volume of 113,024 call options.

Walmart News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is seeing unusually heavy call buying, with traders purchasing 172,007 call options, suggesting some investors are betting on a rebound or further upside in the shares.
• Positive Sentiment: New coverage highlighted Walmart’s AI shopping push with Google’s Gemini as a potential catalyst, with agentic shopping moving from concept to production and potentially improving customer engagement and checkout conversion. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart Connect is increasingly viewed as a bigger margin driver, helped by ad growth, seller spending, and e-commerce gains, which could support profitability even if core retail growth slows. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts noted Walmart and Kroger may be better positioned than peers to handle industry headwinds such as inflation, pricing pressure, and cautious consumers thanks to scale, omnichannel growth, and retail media. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart-owned Flipkart is preparing to compete more aggressively in India’s rapid-delivery market, which could expand its international opportunity but is still early-stage and competitive. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent research reports flagged slowing U.S. comparable sales and Walmart’s use of price cuts and tariff refunds to manage inventory, raising questions about sales guidance and operating margin durability. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $137.00 price objective (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group set a $141.00 price target on Walmart and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $155.00 price objective (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $138.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total value of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,174,579 shares of the company's stock, valued at $495,230,306.77. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $1,308,670.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 120,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,300,550.91. This represents a 8.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 100,730 shares of company stock worth $12,444,624. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 21,939 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $800,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 50,307 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,715 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 91,341 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ WMT traded up $3.06 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $111.88. The stock had a trading volume of 15,474,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,039,914. The firm has a market cap of $890.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.60. Walmart has a fifty-two week low of $94.23 and a fifty-two week high of $135.15. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $122.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.18.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.66. The business 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%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm 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. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.