- Walmart is edging up ahead of earnings.
- The retailer reports first-quarter earnings ahead of Thursday's opening bell.
- Analysts and investors are optimistic ahead of the results.
- Watch Walmart trade in real time here.
Walmart is rallying ahead of its first-quarter earnings report, which is due out ahead before Thursday's opening bell. The stock is up 1.42% on Wednesday to $85.72 a share.
Wall Street analysts surveyed by Bloomberg are expecting the retailer to earn $1.11 per share on revenue of $120.47 billion. Not one analyst has a "sell" rating on the stock, while 15 rate it a 'buy,' and 19 rate it a "hold."
And pessimism around Walmart seems to be easing, at least according to a measure of bets the company's stock will fall. So-called short interest sits at roughly $3.6 billion, down 29% from a record high reached in August 2017, according to data compiled by financial analytics provider S3 Partners.
Investors will be paying close attention to Walmart's e-commerce business - and how it's keeping up with Amazon, its online grocery business, and any new developments on the fairly scrutinized Flipkart acquisition.
Walmart is down 13.02% on the year.