Walmart Inc. (WMT) caught a wave of buying interest on January 12 that pushed shares nearly 2% higher, and it all started with a key technical signal that traders who follow order flow analytics pay close attention to.
At 9:59 AM EST, Walmart triggered what's called a Power Inflow alert at a price of $116.65. This isn't just some random technical indicator. It's a proprietary signal developed by TradePulse that tracks when both institutional and retail traders suddenly shift their behavior toward the buy side.
Here's what makes this interesting: Walmart's stock had been going nowhere that morning. It was basically flat during the opening hours, even dipping slightly before the alert fired. Then the order flow data started showing something different. Both retail investors and institutional traders began leaning into buy orders, and the stock responded accordingly. By 2:45 PM EST, WMT had climbed to $118.84, marking a solid 1.88% gain from the signal price.
How the Power Inflow Signal Actually Works
The Power Inflow alert gets issued within the first two hours of the trading day, which is when a lot of the serious positioning happens. The signal is designed to catch moments when there's a meaningful shift in order flow, specifically when buying activity surges in a way that suggests bullish price movement for the rest of the day.
Order flow analytics go beyond just watching price and volume tick by tick. They examine real-time buying and selling behavior by analyzing the volume, timing, and order size across both retail and institutional participants. Think of it as looking under the hood to see who's actually moving the market and when. These insights give traders a deeper read on price action and market sentiment, which can be the difference between catching a move early or chasing it later.
What Happened With Walmart
When the Power Inflow alert hit, Walmart was trading at $116.65. The stock had been treading water or slightly declining before that moment. Following the signal, the buying interest became visible in the price action. By mid-afternoon, the stock reached $118.84, delivering that 1.88% intraday gain for anyone who got in near the alert price.
This kind of scenario is exactly what order flow enthusiasts are looking for: a situation where the price action looks boring or even slightly negative, but the underlying order flow tells a different story. Traders who acted on the Power Inflow signal could have captured that immediate intraday momentum, which is the whole point of monitoring this type of data.
The broader lesson here is that price doesn't always tell the complete story. Sometimes the market is quietly positioning before making a move, and order flow analytics are designed to spot those moments when smart money (and engaged retail money) starts leaning one direction. Whether that momentum continues beyond a single trading day is another question entirely, but for active traders focused on intraday opportunities, these signals can provide an edge in timing entries.