Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Up 14% After Strong Earnings

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)’s share price traded up 14% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $10.38 and last traded at $10.26. 39,514,496 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 137% from the average session volume of 16,644,746 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.00.

The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $37.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.75 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 3.99% and a positive return on equity of 12.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WBA. TD Cowen cut their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WBA. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 162.5% in the 2nd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 60.4% in the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 87.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 71.2% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 3.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.56, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $9.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.22.

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.