Walmart shares close lower on Tuesday, retailer to buy 4,500 EVs from Canoo in delivery fleet electrification push

Walmart Inc (WMT) said it had reached an agreement with Canoo Inc to purchase 4,500 electric vehicles, as part of the retailer’s objective to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040.

Additionally, Walmart said it had an option to buy up to 10,000 units as it intends to electrify its delivery fleet.

The deal, announced yesterday, also includes Canoo’s fully electric Lifestyle Delivery Vehicle (LDV).

“By continuing to expand our last mile delivery fleet in a sustainable way, we’re able to provide customers and Walmart+ members with even more access to same-day deliveries while keeping costs low,” David Guggina, senior vice president of innovation and automation at Walmart U.S., was quoted as saying by Reuters.

According to Canoo’s Chief Executive Officer Tony Aquila, the company expects to produce 14,000 to 17,000 vehicles next year.

Walmart shares closed lower for the fourth time in the past ten trading sessions in New York on Tuesday. The stock went down 0.30% ($0.38) to $125.07, after touching an intraday high at $127.13. The latter has been a price level not seen since June 3rd ($127.42).

The shares of Walmart Inc have retreated 13.56% so far in 2022 compared with a 19.88% loss for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2021, Walmart’s stock went up 0.37%, thus, it underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 26.89% gain.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to TipRanks, at least 22 out of 27 surveyed investment analysts had rated Walmart Inc’s stock as “Buy”, while 5 – as “Hold”. The median price target on the stock stands at $156.11.