CVS Health Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:CVS)

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 122,130 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 134% compared to the average daily volume of 52,206 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of CVS Health from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.12.

CVS Health Price Performance

NYSE:CVS traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $44.92. 11,265,004 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,649,337. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $54.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.85. The company has a market cap of $56.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.54. CVS Health has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The business had revenue of $95.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.72 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.21 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CVS Health will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 410,001 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $25,781,000 after buying an additional 36,132 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 46,938 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,951,000 after purchasing an additional 10,465 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 43.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 122,682 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $7,125,000 after buying an additional 37,395 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in CVS Health by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,434,476 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $90,200,000 after acquiring an additional 66,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in CVS Health by 8.4% in the third quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 134,523 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $8,459,000 after acquiring an additional 10,453 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CVS Health

CVS Health Corporation provides health solutions in the United States. It operates through Health Care Benefits, Health Services, and Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness segments. The Health Care Benefits segment offers traditional, voluntary, and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services.