Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Given New $12.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) had its price target increased by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada from $9.00 to $12.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sector perform” rating on the pharmacy operator’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target points to a potential downside of 1.64% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on WBA. Bank of America upped their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Barclays raised their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.04.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of WBA stock traded down $0.04 on Wednesday, hitting $12.20. 4,358,847 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 30,197,510. The business has a 50-day moving average of $9.36 and a 200 day moving average of $9.81. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a fifty-two week low of $8.08 and a fifty-two week high of $23.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $39.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.40 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.85% and a positive return on equity of 14.23%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Financial Corp IN grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,685 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 885 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the second quarter worth about $34,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 8,670.3% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,245 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 3,208 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 250.0% in the 2nd quarter. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,500 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.