Piper Sandler Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Stock

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at Piper Sandler from $72.00 to $74.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the pharmacy operator’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.09% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on CVS. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Cowen upped their price target on CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays increased their price target on CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Edward Jones raised CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.39.

CVS Health Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE:CVS opened at $67.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.75 billion, a PE ratio of 18.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. CVS Health has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $80.75. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.35.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. On average, equities research analysts expect that CVS Health will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,625,045.20. The trade was a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. 111 Capital acquired a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $790,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 67.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 286,990 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $12,883,000 after buying an additional 115,603 shares during the last quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,034,000. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CVS Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,525,000. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 65,188 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,639 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.