Covance Downgraded by Bank of America Corp. to Neutral (CVD)

Covance (NYSE:CVD) was downgraded by equities researchers at Bank of America Corp. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Analyst Ratings Network.com reports. They currently have a $85.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America Corp.’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 3.03% from the stock’s previous close. The analysts noted that the move was a valuation call.

Shares of Covance (NYSE:CVD) traded up 1.93% during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $84.09. Covance has a one year low of $46.15 and a one year high of $83.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $78.28. The company has a market cap of $4.699 billion and a P/E ratio of 42.66.

Covance (NYSE:CVD) last released its earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $644.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $586.12 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Covance will post $3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVD has been the subject of a number of other recent research reports. Analysts at First Analysis upgraded shares of Covance from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note to investors on Thursday. Separately, analysts at Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Covance from $90.00 to $95.00 in a research note to investors on Wednesday. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, analysts at Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Covance from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research note to investors on Wednesday, July 17th. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.

One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.65.

Covance Inc is a drug development services company providing a range of early-stage and late-stage product development services on a worldwide basis primarily to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries.