higher prices were good for walmart inc last year as raging inflation steered shoppers toward discounts now lower prices are also good for the retailer and those prices could fall even further piper sandler analyst edward yruma said in upgrading the stock yruma upgraded shares of the bigbox retailer to the firm’s version of a buy rating saying that walmart’s wmt ability to undercut rivals on prices particularly those like kroger co meijer and amazon fresh would help it draw more customers “while we think intuitive logic dictates that walmart is well positioned during an inflationary period trade down we believe that a gradual intensification of promos augurs well for walmart given its sharp focus on price and we raise our estimates accordingly” he said in a research note dated monday a “trade down” occurs when wealthier consumers start seeking out cheaper goods in order to save money yruma hiked his price target on walmart’s stock to 210 from 145 shares of walmart dipped 02 in earlyafternoon trading on tuesday yruma also said that his team recently conducted an analysis of roughly 390 grocery items at walmart that were on “rollback” the term for when a supplier temporarily cuts the price of an item for a retailer and the retailer then sells that item at a lower price the walmart rollback prices on those items as measured by the median difference were 19 lower when compared with the regular prices charged by kroger kr and meijer and 29 lower when compared with amazon fresh amzn  yruma said more rollbacks could be on the way “our store checks point to a significant yearoveryear increase in rollbacks and we think this will intensify” yruma said adding that recent piper sandler research on studentloan repayment found that “for 55 of respondents groceries were one of the top areas of increased spending over the past 23 years in lieu of making debt repayments yet conditions should remain supportive” he added later “walmart’s strong price leadership expands significantly when they implement rollbacks” the rate at which prices have increased in the us has slowed but prices for basics remain high for many customers with higher prices for necessities taking a bigger bite out of customer savings retailers over the past year have cut prices on less essential things like clothes toys and electronics where demand has suffered yruma also said that based on a random sample of around 50 items walmart’s privatelabel items were around 37 cheaper than the same items from national brands he also noted a potential “underappreciated turnaround” at sam’s club citing the expected opening of more than 30 new clubs and five new distribution centers over the next few years and a reinvestment in its privatelabel member’s mark brand “we believe that the reinvestment in the private label brand member’s mark has been a key driver of better business performance” he said shares of walmart are up 106 so far this year while the sp 500 spx is up 195 over that period