Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $130.85, but opened at $124.41. Walmart shares last traded at $121.7970, with a volume of 12,748,674 shares traded.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart beat expectations on quarterly EPS and revenue, with earnings of $0.66 per share and revenue of $177.75 billion, while sales rose 7.4% year over year. Walmart earnings release and conference call
• Positive Sentiment: Global e-commerce sales jumped 26%, advertising revenue rose 37%, and membership fee revenue increased 17.4%, showing continued strength in higher-margin growth businesses. Walmart revenue growth press release
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts have recently highlighted Walmart’s strong e-commerce momentum and defended the long-term outlook, which helped keep sentiment constructive heading into the report. Walmart looks strong ahead of Q1 earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the beat, Walmart’s current-quarter and full-year guidance came in below Wall Street expectations, overshadowing the strong quarter and pressuring the stock. Walmart shares drop as cautious outlook disappoints
• Negative Sentiment: Management said high fuel costs are hurting profits and may force higher store prices if they stay elevated, raising concerns about margins and consumer spending. Walmart higher prices if fuel costs stay elevated
• Negative Sentiment: The company’s FY2027 EPS guidance of 2.750-2.850 and Q2 EPS guidance of 0.720-0.740 both trailed consensus, reinforcing worries that near-term earnings growth may be softer than expected.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $150.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Argus upgraded shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $138.88.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $126.91 and a 200-day moving average of $119.89. The stock has a market cap of $969.81 billion, a PE ratio of 44.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.65.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.01. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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 analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.79, for a total transaction of $2,555,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 486,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,203,571.56. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 687,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,821,522.52. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 154,065 shares of company stock valued at $19,281,401. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cadia Private Client LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the first quarter valued at about $202,000. SHUTTLEWORTH & Co boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.6% in the first quarter. SHUTTLEWORTH & Co now owns 15,648 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,945,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. January Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the first quarter valued at about $284,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 14.6% in the first quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 71,317 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,857,000 after acquiring an additional 9,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 6.2% in the first quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 32,132 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,993,000 after acquiring an additional 1,890 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.