Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Elevance Health from a buy to a hold rating, even though the broader analyst view remains positive with a consensus of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $425.95.
• The company’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $12.58 versus the $10.74 consensus and revenue of $49.49 billion above estimates.
• Elevance Health shares traded lower on Friday but remain near their 12-month high; the stock closed at $416.54 with a market cap of about $90.46 billion.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Leerink Partners set a $364.00 target price on Elevance Health in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Elevance Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $363.00 to $498.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $396.00 to $399.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Elevance Health to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $352.00 to $404.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $425.95.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

ELV traded down $3.85 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $416.54. The company had a trading volume of 779,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,495,521. Elevance Health has a 12-month low of $273.71 and a 12-month high of $427.64. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $397.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $353.48. The stock has a market cap of $90.46 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $12.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.74 by $1.84. Elevance Health had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 15.58%. The company had revenue of $49.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $11.97 EPS. Elevance Health's quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Elevance Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.850- EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Elevance Health will post 26.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Elevance Health news, Director Robert L. Dixon, Jr. sold 151 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.77, for a total transaction of $60,667.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,312,599.18. The trade was a 1.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ELV. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. WealthCollab LLC grew its position in shares of Elevance Health by 42.2% during the 1st quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 91 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 600.0% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 105 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 120.4% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 108 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Elevance Health

Elevance Health, Inc NYSE: ELV is a large U.S.-based health benefits company that provides a broad range of health insurance products and related services. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the company rebranded from Anthem, Inc to Elevance Health in 2022 while continuing to operate consumer-facing health plans under established state and national brands. Gail Boudreaux serves as chief executive officer and president, leading the company's strategic focus on integrated health care and benefit delivery.

Elevance's core activities include offering medical and specialty health plans for individuals, employers and government programs, including Medicare and Medicaid managed-care products.

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