DaVita (NYSE:DVA) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $158.31, but opened at $148.02. DaVita shares last traded at $147.88, with a volume of 202,558 shares.

The company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by ($0.17). DaVita had a return on equity of 77.00% and a net margin of 6.86%. The business had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.85 earnings per share. DaVita’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of DaVita from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on DaVita from $150.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of DaVita from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of DaVita from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on DaVita from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $161.80.

Insider Activity at DaVita

In related news, CFO Joel Ackerman sold 64,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.06, for a total value of $9,928,336.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 111,481 shares in the company, valued at $17,286,243.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Kathleen Alyce Waters sold 7,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.21, for a total transaction of $1,148,771.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 83,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,137,038.31. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joel Ackerman sold 64,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.06, for a total value of $9,928,336.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 111,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,286,243.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 173,482 shares of company stock valued at $27,387,069 in the last 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of DaVita

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harvard Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of DaVita during the second quarter valued at about $55,115,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of DaVita by 147.3% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 256,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,460,000 after acquiring an additional 153,008 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in DaVita by 146.7% in the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 187,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,840,000 after acquiring an additional 111,311 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in DaVita in the second quarter worth approximately $9,615,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of DaVita in the third quarter worth approximately $10,346,000. 90.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

DaVita Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $157.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.94. The stock has a market cap of $11.73 billion, a PE ratio of 14.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.87.

About DaVita

DaVita Inc provides kidney dialysis services for patients suffering from chronic kidney failure in the United States. The company operates kidney dialysis centers and provides related lab services in outpatient dialysis centers. It also offers outpatient, hospital inpatient, and home-based hemodialysis services; operates clinical laboratories that provide routine laboratory tests for dialysis and other physician-prescribed laboratory tests for ESRD patients; and management and administrative services to outpatient dialysis centers.