Shares of Walmart Inc (NASDAQ:WMT) are down 7.3% at $106.01 before the open, after the retail giant's second-quarter results failed to impress Wall Street. Adjusted earnings of 81 cents per share topped the 74 cents expected, while revenue also beat estimates. However, U.S. comparable sales growth of 2.6% missed the 3.7% analysts anticipated, while the company's raised current-quarter and full-year guidance also fell short of expectations.
Should these losses hold, WMT will erase its 2.6% year-to-date lead and open at its lowest level since November. Prior to this price action, familiar pressure at the $116 level was keeping a lid on the stock's most recent rally.
Options traders had been unusually bullish ahead of the report. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and Nasdaq OMX PHLX (PHLX), Walmart's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 2.38 ranks higher than 87% of readings from the past year, showing calls have been picked up at a much faster-than-usual pace over the past 10 weeks.
