Walmart Hit on Chinese Social Media Over Xinjiang Products – TheStreet

Retail titan Walmart  (WMT) – Get Walmart Inc. Report has drawn angry reactions on Chinese social media amid accusations it has stopped carrying products from Xinjiang in its China-based stores.

Last week, President Joe Biden signed a law that forbids imports to the U.S. from Xinjiang, except when companies can prove the products weren’t produced by forced labor. China has violently suppressed religious minorities in the region.

Chinese social media users blasted the Bentonville, Ark., company on Friday, saying they couldn’t find products that usually come from Xinjiang on Walmart and Sam’s Club online outlets in China, The Wall Street Journal reported.

A Walmart spokesperson declined to comment to The Journal.

The paper found no Xinjiang products on Walmart and Sam’s Club’s China online stores. But it did find Xinjiang-sourced goods in a Beijing Walmart.

Morningstar analyst Zain Akbari puts fair value for Walmart at $145.

“Wide-moat Walmart saw strong fiscal 2022 third-quarter results (4% revenue growth versus our sub-2% expectation) as customers looked to the chain for value amid rising prices throughout the economy,” he wrote last month.

“We believe the updraft is temporary, leading us to maintain our long-term targets of low-single-digit sales growth and mid-single-digit adjusted operating margins over the next decade. However, our near-term estimates should rise.”

He raised his fair-value estimate from $136. But, “We still suggest investors await a more attractive entry point,” Akbari said.

Still, given the company’s pricing power and growing e-commerce presence, “we believe Walmart is well positioned to withstand a turbulent retail environment,” he said.

Walmart stock recently traded around $140, up 0.4%. The stock has traded flat for the past three months. The 52-week high, set in mid-August, is $152.57.

Original Source