Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Price Target Raised to $286.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised Cardinal Health’s price target to $286 from $265 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying approximately 13% upside from the reported share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 16 Buy ratings and three Holds; the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” and the average price target is $270.69.
• Cardinal Health reported quarterly EPS of $2.91, exceeding estimates of $2.42, while revenue increased 5.8% year over year to $63.67 billion. The stock traded at $253.10, near its 52-week high of $259.84.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $265.00 to $286.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price target suggests a potential upside of 13.00% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Cardinal Health from $245.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Citigroup upped their target price on Cardinal Health from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Cardinal Health from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Cardinal Health from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $270.69.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Shares of CAH traded up $2.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $253.10. 737,060 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,948,581. The company has a market cap of $58.61 billion, a PE ratio of 35.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.50. Cardinal Health has a 52-week low of $180.45 and a 52-week high of $259.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $237.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.05.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.49. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 98.53%. The business had revenue of $63.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Cardinal Health has set its FY 2027 guidance at 12.400-12.600 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cardinal Health will post 12.55 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Deborah Weitzman sold 7,354 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.45, for a total transaction of $1,731,499.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 77,901 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,341,790.45. This represents a 8.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michelle D. Greene sold 11,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.72, for a total value of $2,746,138.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,434,987.60. The trade was a 53.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 210,271 shares of company stock valued at $49,626,657. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,293,115,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Cardinal Health by 247.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,860,271 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,530,206,000 after acquiring an additional 10,584,119 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the 2nd quarter worth $689,066,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Cardinal Health in the second quarter valued at about $438,870,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Cardinal Health by 14.7% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,565,131 shares of the company's stock worth $330,728,000 after buying an additional 200,021 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Cardinal Health Company Profile

Cardinal Health, Inc is a healthcare services and products company that supports the distribution and delivery of pharmaceuticals, medical products and related services. The company serves hospitals, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, physician offices and other healthcare providers.

Its Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions segment distributes branded, generic and specialty pharmaceuticals, as well as consumer health products, to pharmacies and healthcare institutions.

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