Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) 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.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart posted solid first-quarter results, with revenue of $177.8 billion and EPS of $0.66, while e-commerce sales rose 26% and advertising revenue jumped 37%, highlighting continued strength in digital and membership-driven businesses.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remained constructive after earnings: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating and said Walmart is well positioned to gain share in a price-sensitive environment, while BTIG and BNP Paribas Exane also kept positive ratings despite modestly trimming price targets.
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart disclosed pre-arranged insider sales by CEO John Furner and EVP Christopher James Nicholas, but both transactions were made under 10b5-1 plans, which typically limits how much investors read into them.
• Neutral Sentiment: News reports also noted leadership changes, including the departure of Sam’s Club COO Tom Ward and U.S. stores EVP Cedric Clark, adding some uncertainty but not appearing to change the company’s near-term operating outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Shares weakened after Walmart issued second-quarter EPS guidance below consensus and reaffirmed full-year targets that also came in below Wall Street expectations, prompting concerns that margin pressure could continue.
• Negative Sentiment: Management said elevated fuel prices are pressuring both consumers and Walmart’s own costs, reinforcing worries that spending could soften and profitability could stay under pressure in the coming quarters.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Walmart from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Tigress Financial set a $150.00 target price on Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.71.

Walmart Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $126.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.03. The company has a market cap of $958.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released 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 during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.21, for a total value of $2,566,989.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,193,995 shares in the company, valued at $554,488,078.95. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.77, for a total value of $167,212.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 635,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,023,275.61. The trade was a 0.20% 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 126,008 shares of company stock valued at $15,896,715. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $28,000. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the first quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other 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.