Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Upgraded by Weiss Ratings to Hold (C-) Rating

Key Points

• Elevance Health has been upgraded by Weiss Ratings from a "sell (d+)" to a "hold (c-)" rating, indicating a shift in investor sentiment.
• Barclays raised its price target on Elevance Health from $327.00 to $373.00, highlighting a positive outlook among analysts, while UBS reduced its target from $435.00 to $425.00.
• Despite a reported EPS miss of $8.84 compared to expectations of $9.30, Elevance Health showed revenue growth of 14.3%, totaling $49.42 billion for the quarter.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Weiss Ratings from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

ELV has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $327.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Leerink Partners reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $310.00 target price (down from $510.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, July 18th. Argus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $500.00 to $440.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $418.56.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Elevance Health stock traded up $4.98 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $362.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,833,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,022,532. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $312.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $360.14. Elevance Health has a 12 month low of $273.71 and a 12 month high of $510.24. The company has a market capitalization of $81.62 billion, a PE ratio of 15.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.59.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $8.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.30 by ($0.46). Elevance Health had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 2.83%.The business had revenue of $49.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $10.12 earnings per share. Elevance Health's revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Elevance Health will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In other Elevance Health news, Director Susan D. Devore bought 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $312.15 per share, for a total transaction of $374,580.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,093,149.30. This trade represents a 52.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gail Boudreaux bought 8,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $286.94 per share, for a total transaction of $2,438,990.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 151,020 shares in the company, valued at $43,333,678.80. This trade represents a 5.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA grew its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 6,306 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,743,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Elser Financial Planning Inc boosted its position in Elevance Health by 3.0% during the first quarter. Elser Financial Planning Inc now owns 882 shares of the company's stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in Elevance Health by 1.0% during the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,737 shares of the company's stock worth $1,190,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its position in Elevance Health by 13.3% during the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 230 shares of the company's stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Aspen Investment Management Inc boosted its position in Elevance Health by 2.6% during the first quarter. Aspen Investment Management Inc now owns 1,048 shares of the company's stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company's stock.

About Elevance Health

Elevance Health, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a health benefits company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Health Benefits, CarelonRx, Carelon Services, and Corporate & Other. It offers a variety of health plans and services to program members; health products; an array of fee-based administrative managed care services; and specialty and other insurance products and services, such as stop loss, dental, vision, life, disability, and supplemental health insurance benefits.

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