Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Stock

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) had its price target hoisted by equities researchers at Bank of America from $7.50 to $8.50 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underperform” rating on the pharmacy operator’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 30.56% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.81.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

WBA stock opened at $12.24 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.81. The company has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.22, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a fifty-two week low of $8.08 and a fifty-two week high of $23.76.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.13. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.85% and a positive return on equity of 14.23%. The business had revenue of $39.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Walgreens Boots Alliance

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Financial Corp IN grew its stake 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 8,670.3% during 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 acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 250.0% during 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 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.