Short Interest in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Declines By 27.0%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 45,950,000 shares, a decline of 27.0% from the February 28th total of 62,970,000 shares. Currently, 6.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 25,450,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

NASDAQ WBA opened at $11.17 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $9.65 billion, a PE ratio of -1.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.62. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 52 week low of $8.08 and a 52 week high of $21.74. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.93.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.13. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.87% and a positive return on equity of 17.61%. The company had revenue of $39.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WBA shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $11.00 to $9.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.59.

Institutional Trading of Walgreens Boots Alliance

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WBA. First Financial Corp IN grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,685 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Riverview Trust Co boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 123.8% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 2,874 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 79.5% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 2,928 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Company Profile

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.