Brokerages Set Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Target Price at $10.59

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) has been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the twelve research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $10.59.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WBA shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $9.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wolfe Research upgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WBA opened at $11.31 on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 1-year low of $8.08 and a 1-year high of $16.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.79 billion, a PE ratio of -1.69, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $11.16 and its 200-day moving average is $10.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 8th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.10. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 16.39% and a negative net margin of 3.80%. The company had revenue of $38.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Chairman Stefano Pessina acquired 832,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, April 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $11.01 per share, for a total transaction of $9,163,160.58. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 145,621,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,603,288,079.79. This trade represents a 0.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at $9,685,000. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth $368,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Cibc World Markets Corp raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 282,286 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,634,000 after acquiring an additional 37,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth $143,000. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

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.