Walmart Stock Forecast: Trending Bullish Among Top Analysts

(WMT) stock has risen 1.0% in the past week, 9.4% over the last month, and an impressive 26.6% in the past year, reflecting strong investor interest. Wall Street’s analysts are firmly bullish, with a StrongBuy consensus and a 12‑month average price target of $130.50, suggesting only modest upside from the recent close near $129.02.

Analyst Simeon Gutman of Morgan Stanley reiterated his Buy rating on Walmart on February 9, 2026, setting a price target of $135.00, slightly above the Street’s average view. His target implies limited near‑term multiple expansion but still positions the stock as a quality compounder with attractive risk/reward, framed by 26% upside in his bull case and 29% downside in his bear scenario.

Gutman expects modest upside in Walmart’s upcoming 4FQ26 earnings and believes initial fiscal 2027 guidance will likely be conservative. He points to the growing importance of Walmart’s e‑commerce flywheel, which he says is “upregulating” the earnings algorithm by leveraging scale and technology to support both market share gains and higher profitability.

The analyst argues that Walmart’s premium valuation, now around 43x next‑twelve‑month earnings and well above its 10‑year average, is justified in a “winner‑take‑most” retail landscape. He highlights structural advantages such as scale, strong price gaps, e‑commerce leadership, and a defensive business profile, while noting that part of the recent re‑rating was driven by the listing shift to Nasdaq and expectations for accelerating earnings in early 2026.

For the near term, Gutman sees upside to U.S. comparable sales, helped by same‑day delivery expansion, robust e‑commerce growth, resilient demand across income groups, and weather‑related boosts to spending. His overall track record adds weight to the call: he ranks 1,803 out of 12,061 analysts on TipRanks, with a 60.69% success rate and an average return of 4.40% per rating. Never miss a stock rating. Find all the latest ratings on TipRanks’ Top Wall Street Analysts page.