Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for American Well (NYSE:AMWL) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on American Well to $6.50 but kept an "equal weight" rating, with the $6.50 target implying about a 12.5% downside from the prior close.
• Shares climbed roughly 16.7% to $7.43 after the company beat quarterly estimates (EPS -$0.66 vs -$0.77; revenue $54.9M vs $51.5M), though Amwell remains unprofitable with negative margins and a market cap near $123M.
• Institutional buying has increased (notably Goldman Sachs and Jane Street), while insiders have recently sold stock; insiders own about 12.8% and institutions hold roughly 56% of shares.

American Well (NYSE:AMWL - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $6.00 to $6.50 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price would indicate a potential downside of 12.46% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Well from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on American Well from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of American Well in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Well has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $7.50.

American Well Stock Up 16.7%

Shares of NYSE:AMWL traded up $1.07 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $7.43. The stock had a trading volume of 124,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 83,602. American Well has a 12-month low of $3.71 and a 12-month high of $9.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.25 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.03.

American Well (NYSE:AMWL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.77) by $0.11. The company had revenue of $54.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.54 million. American Well had a negative return on equity of 35.33% and a negative net margin of 38.38%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Well will post -2.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Dmitry Zamansky sold 5,575 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.30, for a total value of $29,547.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 241,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,277,724. This represents a 2.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,664 shares of company stock valued at $51,219. Company insiders own 12.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of American Well

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AMWL. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in American Well by 280.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 64,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 47,745 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of American Well by 232.9% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 64,112 shares of the company's stock worth $505,000 after buying an additional 44,852 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of American Well by 16.5% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,720 shares of the company's stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 2,081 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in American Well in the second quarter worth approximately $250,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in American Well in the second quarter worth approximately $101,000. 56.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About American Well

American Well, operating under the trade name Amwell, is a Boston-based digital health company that develops and delivers telehealth solutions to healthcare providers, payers, employers and patients. Through its cloud-based platform, the company enables secure virtual visits, remote patient monitoring and integrated care coordination across a range of medical disciplines, including primary care, behavioral health, chronic disease management and urgent care.

The company's core offering, the Amwell Telehealth Platform, facilitates live video consultations, asynchronous messaging, e-prescribing and electronic health record integration.

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