DaVita Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:DVA)

DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 7,525 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 577% compared to the average daily volume of 1,111 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at DaVita

In other DaVita news, insider Kathleen Alyce Waters sold 15,405 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.40, for a total transaction of $3,210,402.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 109,194 shares in the company, valued at $22,756,029.60. The trade was a 12.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Joel Ackerman sold 51,471 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.10, for a total transaction of $9,887,579.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 132,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,440,571.40. This trade represents a 27.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of DaVita

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in DaVita by 128.0% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 187 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of DaVita by 147.3% in the 4th quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in shares of DaVita in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Sankala Group LLC bought a new position in shares of DaVita during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of DaVita during the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 90.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

DaVita Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of DaVita stock traded down $0.12 on Friday, hitting $234.79. 830,603 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 794,345. The company has a market cap of $15.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $194.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.75. DaVita has a 52 week low of $101.00 and a 52 week high of $236.51.

DaVita (NYSE:DVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.54. The company had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.36 billion. DaVita had a negative return on equity of 270.37% and a net margin of 5.65%.DaVita’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. DaVita has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.100-15.200 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that DaVita will post 15.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DVA shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on DaVita from $158.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded DaVita from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $126.00 to $220.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on DaVita from $158.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on DaVita from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of DaVita from $144.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, DaVita presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $199.17.

About DaVita

DaVita Inc (NYSE: DVA) is a leading provider of kidney care services, specializing in the management and operation of outpatient dialysis centers for patients with chronic kidney failure and end-stage renal disease. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, the company offers a comprehensive suite of treatment modalities, including in-center hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and home dialysis therapies. In addition to its core dialysis services, DaVita provides patient education, nutritional counseling, vascular access management and related laboratory services to support kidney health and overall patient well-being.

Since its formation in the mid-1990s through a clinical management services spin-off, DaVita has expanded both organically and through strategic partnerships and acquisitions.