Walmart has a chance to increase its market share in the grocery business, which could give the stock a big boost, according to Piper Sandler. The firm upgraded the retail giant to overweight from neutral Monday and raised its price target to $210 a share from $145. Piper Sandler’s new forecast represents a nearly 32% increase from Monday’s close of $159.30. Analyst Edward Yruma said the company will benefit as food inflation eases, allowing it to gain more market share in the space. “While we think intuitive logic dictates that WMT is well-positioned during an inflationary period (trade down), we believe the gradual intensification of promotions is good for WMT given its sharp focus on price, and are raising our estimates accordingly,” Yruma said. The analyst added that Walmart is also ramping up grocery return efforts in an effort to best competitors on price, which is likely to continue as younger consumers become more cost-conscious as student loan payments resume. “We believe that retailers are increasingly facing pressure on volumes (in part due to private label growth) and are using rollbacks in an attempt to regain share. Our in-store checks show a significant year-over-year increase in rollbacks and we think this will intensify,” Yruma said. Walmart shares are up more than 12% in 2023. Thanks to the upgrade, Yruma matched most analysts. Refinitiv data shows that 37 of the 44 analysts covering the stock have either a buy or strong buy rating. WMT YTD shares of the mountain Walmart have added more than 12% YTD. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.