Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Trading Up 12.6% – Should You Buy?

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)’s share price was up 12.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $10.87 and last traded at $10.92. Approximately 11,188,442 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 26,082,805 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WBA shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.19.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $10.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $9.08 billion, a PE ratio of -1.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.65.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $39.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.40 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.87% and a positive return on equity of 17.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Walgreens Boots Alliance

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Financial Corp IN lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,685 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Riverview Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 123.8% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 2,874 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 79.5% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 2,928 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,297 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Company Profile

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.