Walmart is on the verge of an earnings beat that could see the stock gain nearly 12%, according to Evercore ISI. The firm added the retail behemoth to its tactical outperform list with an updated $180 price target, up from $173. Walmart will report quarterly results Thursday before the opening bell, and analysts polled by FactSet are forecasting $1.70 per share for its fiscal second quarter. Walmart stock has added nearly 14% so far this year, and shares hit a 52-week high of $162.
"While we don't think WMT has entirely bucked the broader Retail deceleration trend , traffic trends appear resolute for Walmart based on our analysis of Household penetration/frequency from [data provider] Numerator, Web Traffic, and HundredX spend intention survey data," Melich said. He added that Walmart likely benefited throughout the quarter from the demise of Bed Bath & Beyond, while also picking off customers from peer retailer Target .