Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Cencora (NYSE:COR) Stock

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised Cencora’s price target to $377 from $346 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying approximately 12.88% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 14 Buy ratings and four Holds; Cencora has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $368.38.
• Cencora recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $4.48 in EPS and $84.75 billion in revenue, while revenue increased 5.1% year over year.

Cencora (NYSE:COR - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $346.00 to $377.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price would indicate a potential upside of 12.88% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Cencora from $373.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Cencora from $285.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cencora from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Cencora from $430.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Cencora in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $368.38.

Cencora Price Performance

COR traded up $3.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $334.00. The company had a trading volume of 571,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,456,526. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.53, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $63.74 billion, a PE ratio of 24.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.58. Cencora has a twelve month low of $244.82 and a twelve month high of $377.54. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $323.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $317.58.

Cencora (NYSE:COR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $4.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.35 by $0.13. Cencora had a net margin of 0.79% and a return on equity of 125.45%. The business had revenue of $84.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $84.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.00 earnings per share. Cencora's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Cencora will post 17.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Cencora

In other news, EVP Elizabeth Campbell sold 11,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.12, for a total transaction of $3,662,556.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 19,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,305,754.60. This trade represents a 36.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cencora

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of COR. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Cencora by 506.2% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 97 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of Cencora during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in Cencora in the second quarter worth $28,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cencora in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Lynch Investment Planning LLC purchased a new position in Cencora during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.52% of the company's stock.

About Cencora

Cencora, formerly known as AmerisourceBergen, is a global pharmaceutical sourcing and distribution company. It provides branded, generic and specialty pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter products and related health care supplies to pharmacies, hospitals, health systems, physician practices and other health care providers.

The company also offers services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturers, including logistics, commercialization support, market access, consulting, clinical trial support and patient assistance programs.

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