CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 19,030,000 shares, a growth of 7.1% from the November 30th total of 17,770,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 13,730,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on CVS. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $67.00 price target (down from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on CVS Health from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CVS Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.12.

CVS Health Stock Up 2.2 %

CVS stock opened at $44.89 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.30. The stock has a market cap of $56.49 billion, a PE ratio of 11.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.54. CVS Health has a fifty-two week low of $43.56 and a fifty-two week high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.01. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The business had revenue of $95.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CVS Health will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in CVS Health in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of CVS Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in CVS Health during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in CVS Health during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

About CVS Health

CVS Health Corporation provides health solutions in the United States. It operates through Health Care Benefits, Health Services, and Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness segments. The Health Care Benefits segment offers traditional, voluntary, and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services.