Third-party sellers looking to sell on Walmart's website can now obtain a line of credit through Goldman Sachs
The shares of Walmart Inc (NYSE: WMT) are up 0.4% at $137.64 at last check, after the major retailer announced a partnership with Goldman Sachs (GS) which will allow third-party merchants who sell their products on Walmart's website to obtain lines of credit. Approved sellers are set to access lines of credit between $10,000 and $75,000, and the partnership is attracting analysts. Already, Oppenheimer chimed in with a price-target hike to $152 from $145.
Walmart stock has a decent way to go if it wishes to recapture its Sept. 2 all-time high of $151.33. Still, for the year, WMT boasts a 15.7% lead, and the stock's supportive 50-day moving average has captured several recent pullbacks.
Despite WMT's recent all-time peak, short interest is rising. In fact, short interest is up a whopping 35.6% in the last two reporting periods. The shares sold short still account for a slim 1.2% of the stock's total available float, however, and would take a little under two days to cover, at WMT's average pace of trading.
Meanwhile, the options pits are home to plenty of bullish activity. In fact, WMT sports a 50-day call/put volume ratio of 5.53 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). This ratio sits in the 94th percentile of its annual range, suggesting a healthier-than-usual appetite for long calls.