Wall Street Zen Upgrades Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) to Strong-Buy

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Cardinal Health from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Cardinal Health from $245.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Cardinal Health from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Cardinal Health from $274.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cardinal Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.56.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAH opened at $220.12 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $232.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $219.85. The company has a market capitalization of $50.97 billion, a PE ratio of 30.45, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.51. Cardinal Health has a 1-year low of $150.77 and a 1-year high of $258.30.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $63.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.15 billion. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 98.53%. Cardinal Health’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. Cardinal Health has set its FY 2027 guidance at 12.400-12.600 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Cardinal Health

In other Cardinal Health news, CEO Jason M. Hollar sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.74, for a total value of $18,859,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 235,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,430,017.68. This trade represents a 25.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 29,436 shares of Cardinal Health stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.19, for a total transaction of $6,952,488.84. Following the transaction, the insider owned 33,076 shares in the company, valued at $7,812,220.44. This represents a 47.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 210,271 shares of company stock worth $49,626,657. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cardinal Health

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,293,115,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 247.5% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,860,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,530,206,000 after purchasing an additional 10,584,119 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter worth $790,344,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the 2nd quarter valued at $689,066,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,698,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $554,478,000 after buying an additional 414,074 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Cardinal Health Company Profile

Cardinal Health, Inc is a healthcare services and products company that supports pharmacies, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, physician offices and other healthcare providers. Its operations are primarily organized into Pharmaceutical and Medical segments.

The Pharmaceutical segment distributes branded, generic, specialty and over-the-counter medicines, as well as consumer health products. It also provides services related to specialty pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical sourcing, nuclear and precision health products, and data and analytics for pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare organizations.

The Medical segment distributes medical and surgical products, including gloves, apparel, incontinence supplies, laboratory products and other essential items.