Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) PT Lowered to $22.00

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at Bank of America from $23.00 to $22.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underperform” rating on the pharmacy operator’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 4.66% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WBA. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. TheStreet upgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Barclays assumed coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective (down previously from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.00.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of WBA opened at $21.02 on Tuesday. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 1 year low of $19.68 and a 1 year high of $36.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.29. The stock has a market cap of $18.13 billion, a PE ratio of 31.85, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.73.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 4th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.04. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 0.40%. The business had revenue of $36.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett acquired 4,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $22.44 per share, with a total value of $99,992.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,456 shares in the company, valued at $99,992.64. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett acquired 4,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $22.44 per share, with a total value of $99,992.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,456 shares in the company, valued at $99,992.64. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Nancy M. Schlichting sold 15,209 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.05, for a total value of $350,567.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 308.4% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the period. Highlander Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,241.8% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 981 shares during the period. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2,314.5% during the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.