Credit Suisse hikes its price target on Walmart stock to $180
Credit Suisse this morning raised its price target on Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) to $180 from $170. The brokerage firm maintained its "outperform" rating, noting the blue-chip component is "very well positioned" for the current environment.
The analyst's note comes just ahead of Walmart's second-quarter earnings before the open on Thursday, Aug. 17. Looking back at Walmart's last eight reports, the stock enjoyed five positive next-day returns, averaging a swing of 3.9% -- regardless of direction -- after these past eight sessions. This is slightly lower than the 4.1% move the options pits are pricing in this time around for Thursday's price action.
Walmart stock was last seen up 0.6% at $161.18, a chip shot from Wednesday's record high of $162.10. Over the last 12 months, WMT has added 23.5%, with the ascending 40-day moving average guiding the shares higher since June.
At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), WMT's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 2.63 stands higher than 98% of readings from the last 12 months. This indicates options traders have favored long calls over the last 10 weeks.
Ahead of earnings, the stock looks like a potential
premium-selling candidate at the moment, too, per its Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS), with a score of just 7 out of 100. In other words, the security has consistently realized lower volatility than its options have priced in.