Short Interest in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Rises By 7.1%

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 19,030,000 shares, a growth of 7.1% from the November 30th total of 17,770,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 13,730,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $67.00 price target (down from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of CVS Health from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.12.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS stock opened at $44.89 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $56.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.39, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $53.30 and its 200 day moving average is $57.30. CVS Health has a 1-year low of $43.56 and a 1-year high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The firm had revenue of $95.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that CVS Health will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of CVS Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CVS. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health during the second quarter valued at about $126,000. Summit Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 190.6% in the second quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 12,166 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 7,979 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 3.2% during the second quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 9,461 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the period. Canal Insurance CO increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Canal Insurance CO now owns 200,000 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $11,812,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in CVS Health by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 42,564 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,514,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

About CVS Health

CVS Health Corporation provides health solutions in the United States. It operates through Health Care Benefits, Health Services, and Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness segments. The Health Care Benefits segment offers traditional, voluntary, and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services.