Morgan Stanley Increases Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Price Target to $255.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Cardinal Health to $255 (from $245) and reiterated an "overweight" rating, signaling roughly a 24.42% upside from the prior close.
• Cardinal Health beat quarterly expectations with $2.63 EPS (vs. $2.31 est.) and $65.63B revenue (up 18.8% YoY); analysts collectively rate the stock a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target around $244.33.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $245.00 to $255.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would indicate a potential upside of 24.42% from the stock's previous close.

CAH has been the subject of several other research reports. Evercore lowered their price target on Cardinal Health from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research raised shares of Cardinal Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group set a $260.00 target price on Cardinal Health and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, William Blair started coverage on Cardinal Health in a research report on Tuesday. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cardinal Health presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $244.33.

Cardinal Health Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:CAH opened at $204.94 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $215.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $205.22. Cardinal Health has a 12 month low of $136.71 and a 12 month high of $233.60. The company has a market cap of $48.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.64.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $65.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.88 billion. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.68% and a negative return on equity of 92.50%. Cardinal Health's revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.93 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cardinal Health will post 10.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAH. Strategy Asset Managers LLC purchased a new position in Cardinal Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $775,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Cardinal Health by 15.3% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 37,833 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,938,000 after purchasing an additional 5,030 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health in the third quarter valued at $2,090,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Cardinal Health by 328.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 645,436 shares of the company's stock worth $133,741,000 after purchasing an additional 494,731 shares during the period. Finally, Atle Fund Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Atle Fund Management AB now owns 30,297 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,755,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

About Cardinal Health

Cardinal Health is a multinational healthcare services and products company headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. Tracing its roots to the early 1970s, the company has grown into a major provider of supply chain and distribution services for the healthcare sector. Cardinal Health operates across a range of service lines that support hospitals, health systems, pharmacies, physician offices and clinical laboratories.

The company's core activities include the wholesale distribution of branded and generic pharmaceuticals, the supply and distribution of medical-surgical products, and the provision of logistics and inventory management solutions.

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