What the Options Market Tells Us About Walmart

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on Walmart WMT.

And retail traders should know.

We noticed this today when the trades showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.

Whether these are institutions or just wealthy individuals, we don't know. But when something this big happens with WMT, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.

So how do we know what these investors just did?

Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 31 uncommon options trades for Walmart.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 41% bullish and 41%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 10 are puts, for a total amount of $548,898, and 21 are calls, for a total amount of $1,466,976.

What's The Price Target?

After evaluating the trading volumes and Open Interest, it's evident that the major market movers are focusing on a price band between $53.33 and $86.67 for Walmart, spanning the last three months.

Insights into Volume & Open Interest

In today's trading context, the average open interest for options of Walmart stands at 4985.82, with a total volume reaching 14,402.00. The accompanying chart delineates the progression of both call and put option volume and open interest for high-value trades in Walmart, situated within the strike price corridor from $53.33 to $86.67, throughout the last 30 days.

Walmart 30-Day Option Volume & Interest Snapshot

Largest Options Trades Observed:

About Walmart

Walmart serves as the preeminent retailer in the United States, with its strategy predicated on superior operating efficiency and offering the lowest priced goods to consumers to drive robust store traffic and product turnover. Walmart augmented its low-price business strategy by offering a convenient one-stop shopping destination with the opening of its first supercenter in 1988.Today, Walmart operates over 4,600 stores in the United States (5,200 including Sam's Club) and over 10,000 stores globally. Walmart generated over $440 billion in domestic namesake sales in fiscal 2024, with Sam's Club contributing another $86 billion to the company's top line. Internationally, Walmart generated $115 billion in sales. The retailer serves around 240 million customers globally each week.

After a thorough review of the options trading surrounding Walmart, we move to examine the company in more detail. This includes an assessment of its current market status and performance.

Walmart's Current Market Status

• With a volume of 9,767,306, the price of WMT is down -0.88% at $78.12.
• RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be overbought.
• Next earnings are expected to be released in 64 days.

Expert Opinions on Walmart

A total of 5 professional analysts have given their take on this stock in the last 30 days, setting an average price target of $80.2.

• An analyst from Piper Sandler downgraded its action to Overweight with a price target of $83.
• Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Wells Fargo keeps a Overweight rating on Walmart with a target price of $81.
• An analyst from RBC Capital persists with their Outperform rating on Walmart, maintaining a target price of $80.
• An analyst from Truist Securities has decided to maintain their Hold rating on Walmart, which currently sits at a price target of $76.
• An analyst from Goldman Sachs has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Walmart, which currently sits at a price target of $81.

Options trading presents higher risks and potential rewards. Astute traders manage these risks by continually educating themselves, adapting their strategies, monitoring multiple indicators, and keeping a close eye on market movements. Stay informed about the latest Walmart options trades with real-time alerts from Benzinga Pro.