CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Lifted to Buy at TD Cowen

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) was upgraded by equities research analysts at TD Cowen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $85.00 price objective on the pharmacy operator’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $59.00. TD Cowen’s price target indicates a potential upside of 31.60% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on CVS. Barclays decreased their target price on CVS Health from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on CVS Health from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.40.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS opened at $64.59 on Friday. CVS Health has a 52 week low of $52.77 and a 52 week high of $83.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $81.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.35, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $58.60 and a 200-day moving average of $61.47.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.10. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.98% and a return on equity of 12.72%. The firm had revenue of $91.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that CVS Health will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CVS. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 132.9% during the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 12,936,388 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $764,023,000 after buying an additional 7,382,931 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 12.5% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,917,923 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,024,334,000 after purchasing an additional 4,226,225 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 8.0% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 43,776,874 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,491,643,000 after purchasing an additional 3,232,172 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 402.5% in the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 2,005,677 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $118,455,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606,500 shares during the period. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth about $111,209,000. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Company Profile

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.