Implied beta curves for WMT have inverted over the last month, meaning options traders expect higher systematic risk due to earnings (30 day beta is greater than 365 day beta). This is due to bellwether status of this stock – investors using information from their earnings to gauge expectations about other firms’ earnings and broad macro health. This temporarily raises WMT correlations with other stocks, resulting in heightened short term beta.
Read OptionMetrics’ full article, “Walmart Stock: Here’s What Options Markets Are Indicating In Advance Of Earnings,” on Barchart below to learn more.