CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• CVS Health has been upgraded from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting increased optimism from analysts.
• Numerous brokerages have increased their target prices for CVS Health, with Robert W. Baird raising it to $82.00 and UBS Group to $79.00.
• In its last quarterly earnings, CVS reported $1.81 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.46, alongside a revenue of $98.92 billion.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CVS. Robert W. Baird upgraded CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Baird R W upgraded CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on CVS Health from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group upgraded CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Bernstein Bank lowered their target price on CVS Health from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CVS Health currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.89.

CVS Health Trading Up 0.7%

CVS stock opened at $74.95 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. CVS Health has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $76.24. The stock has a market cap of $95.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.94, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.62. The business's 50-day moving average is $67.91 and its 200 day moving average is $66.63.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $98.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.87 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 1.17%.CVS Health's revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CVS Health will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In related news, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.02, for a total transaction of $532,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,573,519.12. The trade was a 25.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health by 503.8% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,896,341 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $128,477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582,257 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health by 25.0% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 648,266 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $43,920,000 after acquiring an additional 129,535 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in CVS Health by 2.1% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,981,262 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $608,481,000 after acquiring an additional 183,813 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health by 20.1% in the first quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 3,421,519 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $231,808,000 after acquiring an additional 572,533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its stake in CVS Health by 122.5% in the first quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 565,152 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $38,289,000 after acquiring an additional 311,098 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company's stock.

About CVS Health

CVS Health Corporation provides health solutions in the United States. It operates through Health Care Benefits, Health Services, and Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness segments. The Health Care Benefits segment offers traditional, voluntary, and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services.

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