Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Hits New 52-Week Low at $17.53

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $17.53 and last traded at $17.57, with a volume of 2508833 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.64.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on WBA shares. TD Cowen cut their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays started coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “underweight” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.36.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $15.22 billion, a PE ratio of -2.51, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.73.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.86 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 4.18% and a positive return on equity of 12.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,150. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett bought 4,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.44 per share, for a total transaction of $99,992.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,456 shares in the company, valued at $99,992.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $54,150. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 13,456 shares of company stock worth $270,423 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walgreens Boots Alliance

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 14.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 86,675,198 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,927,656,000 after buying an additional 10,962,030 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 84,503.5% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,325,830 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $311,053,000 after acquiring an additional 8,315,989 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,448,648 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $481,694,000 after purchasing an additional 4,163,317 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,026,420 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $378,668,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013,807 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.6% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 63,406,129 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,192,584,000 after purchasing an additional 2,797,885 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

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.