Investing.com -- Oppenheimer on Tuesday downgraded Walmart shares to Perform from Outperform on Monday and removed its $140 price target, citing a less compelling near-term case for the stock ahead of the retailer's August 20 earnings report. Oppenheimer now models a 3% comparable sales increase for Walmart U.S. in the second quarter, below the Street's 3.8% estimate. Walmart shares are down 1% year to date, underperforming an 11% gain in the S&P 500, a sharp reversal after the stock rose 72% in 2024 and 23% in 2025 against much smaller index gains in both years. "Although we are stepping to the sidelines, we still remain very upbeat on WMT's longer-term prospects," the analysts said. Related articlesWalmart dips after Oppenheimer downgrades shares on difficult short-term setupPiper Sandler names CoreWeave top pick in 'megawatt' AI infrastructure raceAI-linked chip stocks rebound; Powell Industries tumbles premarket