Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Rating Lowered to Sell at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) was downgraded by equities researchers at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $9.00 price objective on the pharmacy operator’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $11.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s target price suggests a potential downside of 15.77% from the stock’s current price.

WBA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Truist Financial cut their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America upped their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.54.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 4.9 %

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock opened at $10.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.04, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.65. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.72. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 12-month low of $8.08 and a 12-month high of $22.05.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.13. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 17.61% and a negative net margin of 5.87%. The firm had revenue of $39.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBA. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 701.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 282,619 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,532,000 after acquiring an additional 247,350 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 7.3% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 351,288 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,181,000 after buying an additional 23,751 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the third quarter valued at about $165,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the third quarter worth about $111,000. Finally, Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the third quarter worth about $101,000. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

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.