Express Scripts (ESRX) PT Set at $82.00 by SunTrust Banks

Express Scripts (NASDAQ:ESRX) has been given a $82.00 price objective by research analysts at SunTrust Banks in a note issued to investors on Thursday. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. SunTrust Banks’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 14.61% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on ESRX. Jefferies Group set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Express Scripts and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 29th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Express Scripts in a research note on Friday, September 1st. ValuEngine cut shares of Express Scripts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 1st. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Express Scripts in a research note on Tuesday, September 19th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS cut shares of Express Scripts from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.77.

Shares of Express Scripts (NASDAQ:ESRX) traded up $2.53 on Thursday, hitting $71.55. 8,786,136 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,140,393. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $39,090.00, a P/E ratio of 10.02, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.88. Express Scripts has a 1-year low of $55.80 and a 1-year high of $73.42.

Express Scripts (NASDAQ:ESRX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.90. The business had revenue of $24.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.68 billion. Express Scripts had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 25.46%. The business’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. equities analysts forecast that Express Scripts will post 7.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In related news, VP Phyllis S. Anderson sold 643 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.37, for a total value of $40,103.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy C. Wentworth bought 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $61.13 per share, for a total transaction of $489,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,029,129.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dodge & Cox raised its holdings in Express Scripts by 25.7% in the second quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 36,188,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,310,275,000 after buying an additional 7,388,021 shares during the period. Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Express Scripts by 8.4% in the second quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 11,880,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $758,480,000 after buying an additional 922,406 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Express Scripts by 12.2% in the second quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,068,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $706,629,000 after buying an additional 1,206,980 shares during the period. Veritas Asset Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Express Scripts by 5.6% during the third quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 8,652,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $547,902,000 after purchasing an additional 460,338 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Express Scripts by 2.6% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,304,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $462,551,000 after purchasing an additional 188,528 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.44% of the company’s stock.

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Express Scripts Company Profile

Express Scripts, Inc is a pharmacy benefit management (PBM) company in North America, offering a range of services to its clients, which include health insurers, third-party administrators, employers, union-sponsored benefit plans, workers’ compensation plans and government health programs. It operates in two segments: PBM and Emerging Markets (EM).

Analyst Recommendations for Express Scripts (NASDAQ:ESRX)