Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Stock Price

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) had its price target reduced by Morgan Stanley from $406.00 to $355.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 18.67% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Raymond James cut HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.63.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $299.15 on Tuesday. HCA Healthcare has a 12-month low of $263.22 and a 12-month high of $417.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $350.72 and a 200 day moving average of $357.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,363,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,445,700. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value of $1,023,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,415,579. This trade represents a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 322.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,276,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,397,883 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 11.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,669,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,842,000 after acquiring an additional 174,946 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,487,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $604,511,000 after purchasing an additional 41,190 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,339,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $544,467,000 after purchasing an additional 143,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Darsana Capital Partners LP grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 53.3% during the 2nd quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $369,472,000 after buying an additional 400,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

About HCA Healthcare

HCA Healthcare, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates hospitals and related healthcare entities in the United States. It operates general and acute care hospitals that offers medical and surgical services, including inpatient care, intensive care, cardiac care, diagnostic, and emergency services; and outpatient services, such as outpatient surgery, laboratory, radiology, respiratory therapy, cardiology, and physical therapy.