Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on DaVita (NYSE:DVA)

DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 7,996 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 504% compared to the average volume of 1,324 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at DaVita

In related news, CFO Joel Ackerman sold 51,471 shares of DaVita stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.10, for a total transaction of $9,887,579.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 132,434 shares in the company, valued at $25,440,571.40. The trade was a 27.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On DaVita

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cozad Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in DaVita in the 1st quarter worth about $212,000. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in DaVita in the 1st quarter worth about $60,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in DaVita in the 1st quarter worth about $398,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems purchased a new position in DaVita in the 1st quarter worth about $2,240,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in DaVita by 96.2% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 37,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,716,000 after purchasing an additional 18,237 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DVA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of DaVita from $158.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of DaVita from $144.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of DaVita in a research report on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of DaVita from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of DaVita from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $199.17.

DaVita Stock Up 1.6%

DaVita stock traded up $3.45 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $212.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 182,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 969,507. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $178.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.52. DaVita has a 12 month low of $101.00 and a 12 month high of $212.91. The company has a market capitalization of $13.64 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.91.

DaVita (NYSE:DVA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.54. The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.36 billion. DaVita had a net margin of 5.65% and a negative return on equity of 270.37%. DaVita’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. DaVita has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.100-15.200 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that DaVita will post 15.07 EPS for the current year.

About DaVita

DaVita Inc (NYSE: DVA) is a leading provider of kidney care services, specializing in the management and operation of outpatient dialysis centers for patients with chronic kidney failure and end-stage renal disease. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, the company offers a comprehensive suite of treatment modalities, including in-center hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and home dialysis therapies. In addition to its core dialysis services, DaVita provides patient education, nutritional counseling, vascular access management and related laboratory services to support kidney health and overall patient well-being.

Since its formation in the mid-1990s through a clinical management services spin-off, DaVita has expanded both organically and through strategic partnerships and acquisitions.