Ardent Health (NYSE:ARDT) Reaches New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

Ardent Health, Inc. (NYSE:ARDT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $12.00 to $11.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Ardent Health traded as low as $8.26 and last traded at $8.2550, with a volume of 220293 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $8.60.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. KeyCorp cut Ardent Health from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Bank of America cut their target price on Ardent Health from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Leerink Partners set a $16.00 price target on shares of Ardent Health in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ardent Health in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Ardent Health from $21.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.58.

Key Ardent Health News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ardent Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Contrarian/bull case published outlining reasons to buy ARDT amid the selloff; may attract value investors looking past near‑term litigation risk. A Bull Case Theory
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple national plaintiff law firms have filed or issued investor alerts about a securities class action alleging accounting/revenue recognition and reserve misstatements tied to Ardent’s Q3 2025 results; firms are soliciting lead‑plaintiff applicants with a March 9, 2026 deadline — this increases the risk of litigation expense, management distraction, and prolonged share‑price pressure. Hagens Berman notice
• Negative Sentiment: Numerous additional firms (Kirby McInerney, Rosen, Bragar Eagel & Squire, Glancy Prongay & Murray, Schall, Kahn Swick & Foti, Pomerantz, Wolf Haldenstein, Levi & Korsinsky, BFA Law, etc.) have issued investor reminders or filed claims — amplifying media coverage and potential claimant interest, which can prolong uncertainty and downside risk for ARDT. Example notice: GlobeNewswire reminder
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan lowered its price target on ARDT from $12 to $11 and maintains a neutral rating — the cut signals reduced near‑term analyst confidence and may limit buying from institutional investors that follow bank research. Benzinga analyst note

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardent Health

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ardent Health by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,769,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,444,000 after purchasing an additional 134,513 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Ardent Health by 44.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,352,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,923,000 after buying an additional 416,348 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Ardent Health by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,269,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,822,000 after acquiring an additional 78,861 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Ardent Health by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 828,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,377,000 after acquiring an additional 11,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ardent Health by 367.2% during the 2nd quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 790,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,800,000 after acquiring an additional 621,430 shares in the last quarter.

Ardent Health Stock Up 2.4%

The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.86, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $8.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.63.

Ardent Health (NYSE:ARDT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.10. Ardent Health had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 19.02%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Ardent Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.850-1.030 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ardent Health, Inc. will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

Ardent Health Company Profile

Ardent Health, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker ARDT, is a healthcare delivery company focused on acquiring, developing and managing acute care hospitals and complementary outpatient facilities across the United States. The company’s integrated platform encompasses both inpatient and outpatient services, designed to provide end-to-end care solutions and address the full continuum of patient needs.

Through its network, Ardent Health operates general hospitals, emergency departments, ambulatory surgery centers, urgent care clinics, rehabilitation and post-acute care facilities.