Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $11.04, but opened at $11.70. Walgreens Boots Alliance shares last traded at $11.43, with a volume of 4,180,300 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WBA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target 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. Wolfe Research raised Walgreens Boots Alliance to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.63.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Up 4.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $9.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.64. The business’s 50 day moving average is $10.44 and its 200-day moving average is $9.71.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $39.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.40 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.87% and a positive return on equity of 17.61%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Financial Corp IN raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 49.2% during the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,685 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Riverview Trust Co increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 123.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its holdings in 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,297 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 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.