Ro Khanna Shows Conflicting Opinions on Walmart

Shares of Walmart (WMT:US) are up more than 8% today after the discounter giant reported stronger-than-expected sales in the third quarter of fiscal year 2023 and raised its full-year guidance.

Walmart skyrocketed after the company reported a blowout quarter, as Americans across income levels bought the company’s low-priced groceries due to rising inflation on food prices. Walmart’s total revenue grew 8.7%, bringing it to $152.8 billion vs $147.8 billion expected with strength across company segments.

The company announced a nationwide settlement of $3.1 billion to resolve lawsuits and potential lawsuits by state, local and tribal governments. Furthermore, management also announced a new $20 billion share repurchase authorization.

Congressman Ro Khanna who is a member of the Agriculture, Armed Services, and Oversight and Reform committees has actively shown interest in Walmart over the years as seen by the fact that he co-wrote “STOP WALMART ACT” with Senator Bernie Sanders in November 2018. It is noteworthy that he did so whilst being heavily invested in WMT himself, as shown by this filing from 2017. 

Even now, as Walmart heads into the third-quarter report, Rep. Khanna, the U.S. representative from California, has disclosed that he accumulated more Walmart shares ranging between $132.25 and 136.43 per share from August to September. Two of the four transactions were between $15,000 and $50,000 worth of shares. Although he usually trades in smaller sizes, he has quite often initiated these larger sums throughout 2022.

Much to his favor, Walmart shares traded at around $148.50 on Tuesday, November 15th, 2022.