Walgreens Boots Alliance Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:WBA)

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBAGet Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors acquired 85,066 call options on the company. This is an increase of 44% compared to the average volume of 59,115 call options.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of WBA stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $9.12. The company had a trading volume of 16,468,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,442,605. The stock has a market cap of $7.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.38, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.40. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 52-week low of $8.22 and a 52-week high of $27.05.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Scientech Research LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,215,000. Syon Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $333,000. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 2,038,878 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $24,660,000 after acquiring an additional 198,891 shares in the last quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 58.4% in the 2nd quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 803,204 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $9,715,000 after acquiring an additional 296,135 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth $297,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $10.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Barclays reduced their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.46.

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About Walgreens Boots Alliance

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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.

Further Reading

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