Walmart shares gain the most in nine months on Thursday, quarterly results beat, US same-store sales register growth not seen in ten years

Shares of Walmart Inc (WMT) rose at the largest daily rate in nine months yesterday, after the US retailer reported higher-than-anticipated quarterly sales and earnings, as traffic to its regular stores increased, while a renovated website supported on-line purchases.

Walmart shares closed higher for the eighth time in the past eleven trading sessions in New York on Thursday. It has also been the sharpest daily surge since November 16th 2017. The stock went up 9.33% ($8.42) to $98.64, after touching an intraday high at $100.21, or a price level not seen since February 16th ($104.94).

Shares of Walmart Inc have retreated 0.11% so far in 2018 compared with a 6.25% gain for the underlying index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2017, Walmart’s stock surged 42.87%, thus, it outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 19.42% return.

Walmarts total revenue grew 3.8% year-on-year to $128 billion during the quarter ended on July 31st, while exceeding the median analyst forecast of $125.97 billion.

The retailer said its comparable-store sales in the United States rose at a rate unseen in ten years due to strength in grocery, apparel as well as seasonal merchandise. Sales at US stores, which are open at least 12 months, went up 4.5% year-on-year during the past quarter, or surging past Wall Street estimates of a 2.38% growth.

At the same time, e-commerce sales in the United States were reported to have soared 40% during the quarter, driven by improvements such as a new website redesign as well as more varied on-line grocery offerings.

Meanwhile, the retailer posted a net loss of $861 million ($0.29 per share) during the quarter ended on July 31st, following a net income of $2.9 billion ($0.96 per share) reported for the same period a year earlier.

Excluding special items such as a loss associated with the sale of a majority stake in Walmart Brazil, the US company earned $1.29 per share during the latest quarter. That compares with a median analyst estimate pointing to adjusted earnings of $1.22 per share.

Walmart now forecasts full-year earnings per share within the range between $4.90 and $5.05, or a revision up from a range of $4.75 to $5.00, as expected previously.

According to CNN Money, the 27 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Walmart Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $93.00, with a high estimate of $108.00 and a low estimate of $85.00. The median estimate represents a 5.72% downside compared to the closing price of $98.64 on August 16th.

The same media also reported that 18 out of 30 surveyed investment analysts had rated Walmart Inc’s stock as “Hold”, while 9 – as “Buy”.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, todays levels of importance for the Walmart stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $98.85
R2 – $99.06
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $99.27
R4 (Long Breakout) – $99.91
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $100.64
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $100.96

S1 – $98.43
S2 – $98.22
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $98.01
S4 (Short Breakout) – $97.38
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $96.64
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $96.32

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Walmart Inc (WMT) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $89.73
R1 – $90.82
R2 – $91.45
R3 – $92.54
R4 – $93.62

S1 – $89.10
S2 – $88.01
S3 – $87.38
S4 – $86.74