Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Trading Down 9.2% Following Analyst Downgrade

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT)’s share price traded down 9.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Gordon Haskett downgraded the stock from a buy rating to an accumulate rating. The stock traded as low as $102.85 and last traded at $103.84. Approximately 83,242,782 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 226% from the average daily volume of 25,502,297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $114.30.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $137.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Mizuho set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total value of $1,435,203.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 125,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,985,527.94. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $1,308,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 120,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,300,550.91. This trade represents a 8.38% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,164 shares of company stock valued at $6,389,402. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart reported adjusted earnings of $0.81 per share and revenue of $187.9 billion, exceeding estimates of approximately $0.74 and $186.6 billion, respectively. Revenue increased 5.9% year over year. Walmart quarterly earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Growth remained strong in higher-value areas: global e-commerce sales rose 23%, advertising revenue increased 38%, and global membership fee revenue grew 17%. Gross profit rate also improved by 96 basis points. Walmart reports revenue growth
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised fiscal 2027 guidance, supported by e-commerce, advertising, membership growth and international performance. Walmart also plans to use nearly $2.9 billion in tariff refunds partly to reduce prices and support customer traffic. Walmart tariff refunds and prices
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart’s affordability strategy is attracting more grocery transactions and unit volume, but price reductions could limit near-term margins as the company responds to increasingly deal-focused consumers.
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. comparable sales grew 2.6%, well below expectations near 3.5%-3.7% and the weakest growth in more than six years. Reports linked the slowdown to higher gas costs, consumer trade-offs and softer discretionary spending. Reuters Walmart sales miss report
• Negative Sentiment: Fiscal third-quarter guidance was below Wall Street expectations: EPS of $0.62-$0.64 versus $0.68 expected, and revenue of $183.1-$184.5 billion versus $188.2 billion expected. Management also said the timing of Flipkart’s major sales event would create a headwind of more than 100 basis points to third-quarter sales growth. Investopedia Walmart forecast report
• Negative Sentiment: Gordon Haskett downgraded Walmart from “buy” to “accumulate,” adding to concerns that the stock’s premium valuation leaves limited room for execution or consumer-demand disappointments.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Sankala Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $826.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.44, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.61. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $114.03 and a 200 day moving average of $121.49.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The company had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.