CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,640,000 shares, a growth of 16.5% from the May 31st total of 17,710,000 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 12,590,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CVS Health news, Director Edward J. Ludwig bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CVS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,696,285 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $9,293,299,000 after buying an additional 533,659 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 8.0% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 43,776,874 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,491,643,000 after acquiring an additional 3,232,172 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 12.5% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,917,923 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,024,334,000 after acquiring an additional 4,226,225 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in CVS Health by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,136,920 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $987,041,000 after purchasing an additional 303,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CVS Health during the 4th quarter worth $1,092,040,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $59.06 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. CVS Health has a 52-week low of $52.77 and a 52-week high of $83.25. The stock has a market cap of $74.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $59.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.13.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.33 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.53%. CVS Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that CVS Health will post 7.02 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on CVS Health from $101.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group lowered shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. SVB Leerink restated a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Mizuho dropped their target price on CVS Health from $86.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on CVS Health in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $61.00 price target on the stock. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CVS Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.05.

CVS Health Company Profile

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.