Analysts Set Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Price Target at $10.59

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $10.59.

WBA has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:WBA traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $11.28. 988,986 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,740,836. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a one year low of $8.08 and a one year high of $16.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $9.75 billion, a PE ratio of -1.10, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $11.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.46.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 8th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.10. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.87% and a positive return on equity of 17.61%. The business had revenue of $38.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Stefano Pessina purchased 832,258 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, April 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $11.01 per share, for a total transaction of $9,163,160.58. Following the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 145,621,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,603,288,079.79. This represents a 0.57% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 17.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bluefin Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $455,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 6.5% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 152,211 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,700,000 after buying an additional 9,236 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4,739.3% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,085,596 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $23,296,000 after acquiring an additional 2,042,499 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 93.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 50,349 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 24,265 shares during the period. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the first quarter valued at $318,000. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Walgreens Boots Alliance

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc operates as a healthcare, pharmacy, and retail company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Retail Pharmacy, International, and U.S. Healthcare. The U.S. Retail Pharmacy segment engages in operation of the retail drugstores, health and wellness services, specialty, and home delivery pharmacy services, which offers health and wellness, beauty, personal care and consumables, and general merchandise.