Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Shares Climb 2.8% – Still a Buy?

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Oct 24th, 2026

Walmart logo Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT – Get Free Report) shares shot up 2.8% on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $121.18 and last traded at $121.12. 27,516,999 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 10% from the average daily volume of 24,985,637 shares. The stock had previously closed at $117.80.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

Positive Sentiment: AI shopping tools could expand Walmart’s digital sales. Walmart introduced tools that allow third-party AI agents to search for products and complete purchases on customers’ behalf. The strategy could increase transaction volume and keep Walmart competitive in AI-enabled commerce, particularly as Amazon takes a more restrictive approach to outside shopping bots. Walmart launches tools for AI agents to shop for customers
Positive Sentiment: Walmart+ and Sam’s Club are being bundled for $120. The combined membership offer may improve customer retention, increase cross-shopping between Walmart and Sam’s Club, and support recurring fee revenue. Walmart’s $120 Walmart+ and Sam’s Club Bundle
Positive Sentiment: Recent momentum reflects investor confidence in Walmart’s defensive retail position. Reports say Walmart is on track for its strongest monthly performance since 1999, while it continues to gain grocery market share and benefit from a relatively resilient consumer base. Walmart’s Best Month Since 1999 Leads a Record Staples Rally
Neutral Sentiment: New Fast & Furious collectibles are coming to Walmart. The 25th-anniversary NOS capsule collection could generate incremental seasonal traffic and sales, but the financial impact is likely limited relative to Walmart’s overall business. PMI Brings Fast and Furious Collectibles to Walmart
Negative Sentiment: Valuation is becoming a bigger concern. Walmart has returned about 160% over five years and is trading well above historical earnings multiples. Investors may be questioning whether future earnings growth can justify the current price, increasing the risk of profit-taking after the recent rally. Is Walmart Getting Too Expensive on Earnings?
Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure could intensify in groceries. Kroger plans to use cost reductions and lower prices to regain market share from Walmart and Costco, potentially pressuring Walmart’s pricing power and margins. Kroger Plans Price Cuts to Compete With Walmart

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $128.00 price target (down from $137.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered Walmart from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $113.00 to $136.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $132.41.

View Our Latest Analysis on WMT

Walmart Stock Down 1.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $951.18 billion, a PE ratio of 43.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $109.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.03.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%. The firm had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. The firm’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 research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.66, for a total transaction of $1,399,912.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 647,912 shares in the company, valued at $69,106,293.92. This trade represents a 1.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.41, for a total transaction of $416,595.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 618,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,562,863.19. This trade represents a 0.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 102,244 shares of company stock worth $11,112,044. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the first quarter worth $29,000. Montgomery Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the first quarter valued at $37,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

About Walmart

(Get Free Report)

Walmart Inc (NASDAQ:WMT) operates a global retail business through a network of supercenters, supermarkets, discount stores, neighborhood markets, warehouse clubs and e-commerce platforms. Its stores and websites sell a broad assortment of merchandise, including groceries, consumables, health and wellness products, apparel, electronics, home goods, toys and other general merchandise.

The company organizes its operations into Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam’s Club U.S. Walmart U.S.