New York, March 1, 2026, 12:12 EST — Market is now closed
- Walmart shares closed up Friday, sidestepping a wider market drop as investors favored defensive stocks.
- Bank of America brought coverage back, issuing a Buy rating and highlighting faster delivery as well as an expanding digital business.
- U.S. jobs data and retail sales numbers set for release March 6 are on traders’ radar as the next gauge of consumer demand.
Walmart Inc (WMT.O) climbed 2.84% to finish Friday at $127.95, beating the wider market as the weekend approached. Shares moved in a $125.14 to $128.60 band, with volume hitting roughly 29.2 million.
February wrapped up with investors rotating out of risk assets and heading for defensive plays. On Friday, the Dow slid 1.05%, the S&P 500 fell 0.43%, and the Nasdaq slipped 0.92%. Consumer staples, along with other defensive sectors, managed to hold up better. Carson Group’s Ryan Detrick described the setup as “a classic risk-off environment”—market jargon for fleeing to safety. Reuters
U.S. markets are closed for the weekend, leaving traders focused on what’s next: The monthly U.S. jobs report and a retail sales readout both land Friday, March 6. Reuters survey data points to a 60,000 jobs increase. “Pretty much treading water,” is how BNY’s John Velis described the market mood, while traders weigh which AI plays will come out ahead. Reuters
Walmart drew late-session momentum after a bullish note from Bank of America. On Friday, BofA’s analyst Christopher Nardone resumed coverage on the big U.S. retailers, putting Walmart and Costco at the top of his list, while Target got a bearish tilt. Nardone highlighted Walmart’s traction with higher-income customers thanks to faster delivery, plus its long-standing appeal to value-focused buyers. He cited a $150 billion digital business — that’s 21% of Walmart’s sales — and argued that e-commerce profits and incremental margins between 10% and 15% could lift EPS over time, potentially pushing up the stock’s valuation.
In a fresh disclosure for those watching insider moves, a Form 4 revealed the Walton Family Holdings Trust offloaded a total of 1,723,236 Walmart shares across Feb. 26 and 27. Sale prices averaged between $127.1188 and $128.0593, putting the haul somewhere near $220 million. The trust also handed out 303,000 shares to a beneficiary, according to the filing.
Legal risks are still in play and could flare up without warning. Walmart will pay $100 million to resolve FTC and state accusations regarding earnings representations in its Spark Driver delivery program; the company’s also prohibited from making misleading earnings promises to drivers. FTC consumer protection director Christopher Mufarrige commented, “Labor markets cannot function efficiently without truthful and non-misleading information about earnings and other material terms.” Reuters
What’s the wildcard? Should next week’s data rekindle rate-cut bets and risk appetite makes a comeback, defensive names like Walmart might surrender some of their relative edge—even if their core story holds steady. But if inflation runs hot again or jobs numbers disappoint, caution could linger, keeping the spotlight on companies with reliable cash flows.
Bank of America kept its Buy rating and set a $150 price target, TipRanks data show. That suggests roughly 17% upside from Friday’s close. The call is built on a bet that e-commerce margins will start appearing in earnings, not just in the outlook.
Traders are set to track Walmart closely on Monday, looking to see if Friday’s breakout sticks and if defensive stocks continue to draw support. The next firm event is Friday, March 6, when the U.S. jobs report lands alongside retail sales figures. Best Buy and Target are also due to report, giving investors more data as they search for clear signals on consumer demand.
