Leerink Partners Issues Positive Forecast for Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Stock Price

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) had its price target upped by Leerink Partners from $240.00 to $268.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,MarketScreener reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

CAH has been the subject of a number of other reports. Mizuho set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Cardinal Health and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $195.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $221.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.21.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

CAH traded up $1.63 on Thursday, reaching $228.81. 104,248 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,774,812. Cardinal Health has a 52-week low of $120.72 and a 52-week high of $230.00. The company has a market cap of $54.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.73, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $206.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.50.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.32. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.68% and a negative return on equity of 84.37%. The business had revenue of $65.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.93 earnings per share. Cardinal Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Cardinal Health

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strategy Asset Managers LLC bought a new stake in Cardinal Health during the third quarter worth $775,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 37,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,938,000 after purchasing an additional 5,030 shares during the last quarter. Atle Fund Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Atle Fund Management AB now owns 30,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its stake in Cardinal Health by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 500,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,533,000 after purchasing an additional 33,673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Cardinal Health by 107.2% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 99,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,698,000 after buying an additional 51,416 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cardinal Health News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Cardinal Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 beat — Cardinal posted fiscal Q2 results that topped estimates: non‑GAAP EPS $2.63 (vs. ~ $2.31–$2.39 consensus) and revenue ~$65.6B (+19% y/y). GAAP and non‑GAAP operating earnings rose materially year-over-year. Cardinal Health Reports Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Results and Raises Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Raised FY26 outlook — Management raised fiscal‑year non‑GAAP EPS guidance to $10.15–$10.35 (a second upward revision), signaling confidence in sustained strength. That guidance boost is a key driver of the rally. Cardinal Health boosts annual profit forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Specialty drug tailwinds & capital return — Management cited strong demand for specialty medicines (including GLP‑1 related activity) as a growth driver; the company also completed its $750M baseline share‑repurchase and said it’s in its targeted leverage range. These items support EPS growth and shareholder returns. Cardinal Health boosts annual profit forecast banking on surging demand for specialty drugs
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/market commentary supportive — Earnings‑call takeaways and analyst notes emphasize a broad‑based upswing across segments and lifted 2026 EPS estimates, which is reinforcing buy interest. Cardinal Health’s Earnings Call Highlights Broad-Based Upswing
• Neutral Sentiment: Readouts available — Full earnings call transcript and slide deck were posted (useful for modeling segment-level drivers and cadence of margin improvement). Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/context — Market coverage notes the stock cleared its 52‑week high on the results; momentum can attract short‑term flows but also increases scrutiny. Cardinal Health Smashes 52-Week High After Strong Quarter
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and legacy profitability metrics — The stock now trades at a relatively rich multiple (PE ~34) and public filings show a negative trailing ROE figure (reflecting past charges/financial structure), which could temper upside if growth slows. Monitor guidance execution and margin sustainability. CAH stock profile and metrics

Cardinal Health Company Profile

Cardinal Health is a multinational healthcare services and products company headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. Tracing its roots to the early 1970s, the company has grown into a major provider of supply chain and distribution services for the healthcare sector. Cardinal Health operates across a range of service lines that support hospitals, health systems, pharmacies, physician offices and clinical laboratories.

The company’s core activities include the wholesale distribution of branded and generic pharmaceuticals, the supply and distribution of medical-surgical products, and the provision of logistics and inventory management solutions.