Deutsche Bank upgraded Walmart (WMT) to Buy from Neutral, with analyst Krisztina Katai saying the current inflationary environment should reinforce Walmart's value proposition and support accelerated share gains. The September Consumer Price Index rose 3.7% year over year, up from 3.4% in August, while grocery prices rose 1.8% but were roughly flat month over month. Walmart stock rose about 3% in premarket trading. In the second quarter, U.S. same-store sales grew 2.6%, the slowest since Q4 of 2020, while private-label brands' share of sales rose 1.3 percentage points year over year.
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