Rolling With Walmart

Take a look at Walmart's stock chart and you would think its has no pulse. Since 1999, the company stock has basically gone nowhere trading between $43 and $60. In hindsight, it hasn't been a very good investment for those who own it. But for traders who like rolling stocks, it could be very profitable.

A Decade Of Boredom

Imagine yourself holding shares in Walmart since 1999. Lets say $100,000 worth. Unless you are a trader, you've made nothing holding this stock.

Ten years. Thats a long time of nothing-ness. Walmart's big growth spurt happened between 1996 and 1999 when the stock jumped up 600%. Since then, its been a poor investment, dead money if you will as you can see below:

Walmart is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. If you own the DIA ETF or mutual funds that have Walmart in it, that a portion of your investment has gone nowhere too.

Majority Holders

Who owns the majority of Walmart stock?

• Barclays $4.8B
• State Street $4.4B
• Vanguard $4.0B
• Fidelity Management $2.8B
• Capital World $2.6B
• AXA $2.3B
• Bank of NY Mellon $2.2B
• T Rowe Price $1.6B

Thats $25 billion dollars of dead money. Out of fairness, most of these are invested in Walmart because they have to. That is, they have to mimic the Dow or a retail emphasized ETF/fund.

Don't Invest In Walmart, Trade It!

If a stock soars 600%, it behooves me why anyone would bother investing in it after that. However, here is a great example of a rolling stock where if you are a nimble position trader, you can pick off 10% long and short WMT. Do that 2 times a year and you can beat most mutual fund managers - just an idea.