Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on ELV. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Elevance Health from $317.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Elevance Health from $424.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Elevance Health from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Elevance Health from $352.00 to $404.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $425.95.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ELV traded down $3.85 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $416.54. 779,522 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,495,521. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $397.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $353.48. The company has a market cap of $90.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.67. Elevance Health has a 12-month low of $273.71 and a 12-month high of $427.64.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $12.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.74 by $1.84. Elevance Health had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 15.58%. The business had revenue of $49.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $11.97 earnings per share. Elevance Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Elevance Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.850- EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Elevance Health will post 26.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert L. Dixon, Jr. sold 151 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.77, for a total value of $60,667.27. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,312,599.18. The trade was a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. WealthCollab LLC lifted its stake in Elevance Health by 42.2% in the first quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Signet Financial Management LLC increased its position in Elevance Health by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its position in Elevance Health by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC now owns 825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Elevance Health

Elevance Health, Inc (NYSE: ELV) is a large U.S.-based health benefits company that provides a broad range of health insurance products and related services. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the company rebranded from Anthem, Inc to Elevance Health in 2022 while continuing to operate consumer-facing health plans under established state and national brands. Gail Boudreaux serves as chief executive officer and president, leading the company’s strategic focus on integrated health care and benefit delivery.

Elevance’s core activities include offering medical and specialty health plans for individuals, employers and government programs, including Medicare and Medicaid managed-care products.