Walmart shares gain the most in two months on Wednesday, retailer to provide college funding assistance for its US employees

According to a report by Bloomberg on Wednesday, Walmart Inc (WMT) intends to assist its full-time and part-time employees in the United States by funding their college degrees.

Walmart shares closed higher for the first time in the past six trading sessions in New York on Wednesday. It has also been the sharpest daily surge since March 26th. The stock went up 2.09% ($1.72) to $84.12, after touching an intraday high at $84.23, or a price level not seen since May 22nd ($84.81).

Shares of Walmart Inc have retreated 14.82% so far in 2018 compared with a 1.89% gain for the underlying index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2017, Walmart’s stock surged 42.87%, thus, it outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 19.42% return.

About 1.5 million Walmart workers will now be able to obtain associate’s or bachelor’s degrees in business or supply-chain management by visiting three non-profit schools at a cost of $1 per day, the retailer announced earlier this week.

The company also said it planned to fund tuition, books and fees as well as assist employees with the application and enrollment processes.

“Many of our associates don’t have the opportunity to complete a degree”, Drew Holler, Walmart’s US vice president of people innovation said in an interview, cited by Bloomberg.

“We felt strongly that this is something that would improve their lives and help us run a better business”, he added.

According to Walmarts estimate, approximately 68 000 workers may take advantage of the program. However, Walmart did not specify how much that program would potentially cost.

According to CNN Money, the 30 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Walmart Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $94.00, with a high estimate of $126.00 and a low estimate of $85.00. The median estimate is an 11.75% surge compared to the closing price of $84.12 on May 30th.

The same media also reported that 17 out of 33 surveyed investment analysts had rated Walmart Inc’s stock as “Hold”, while 12 – as “Buy”.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, todays levels of importance for the Walmart stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $84.30
R2 – $84.48
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $84.66
R4 (Long Breakout) – $85.20
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $85.84
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $86.13

S1 – $83.94
S2 – $83.76
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $83.58
S4 (Short Breakout) – $83.04
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $82.40
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $82.11

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Walmart Inc (WMT) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $83.02
R1 – $84.25
R2 – $86.05
R3 – $87.28
R4 – $88.52

S1 – $81.22
S2 – $79.99
S3 – $78.19
S4 – $76.40