DaVita Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:DVA)

DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders bought 11,404 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 508% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,875 call options.

DaVita Stock Down 0.7%

DVA stock traded down $1.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $181.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 156,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 918,086. DaVita has a 1 year low of $101.00 and a 1 year high of $247.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $200.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.72. The stock has a market cap of $11.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.85, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.83.

DaVita (NYSE:DVA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.14. DaVita had a net margin of 6.05% and a negative return on equity of 217.63%. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. DaVita has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.100-15.200 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that DaVita will post 14.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new stake in DaVita during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,425,269,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of DaVita in the second quarter valued at approximately $547,520,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in DaVita by 5.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,145,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,037,000 after purchasing an additional 56,336 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in DaVita in the second quarter valued at approximately $145,057,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in DaVita by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,190,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,196,000 after buying an additional 636,191 shares during the period. 90.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on DVA. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of DaVita from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of DaVita in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen raised shares of DaVita from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $201.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of DaVita from $218.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Zacks Research cut DaVita from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.43.

About DaVita

DaVita Inc (NYSE: DVA) is a healthcare company focused primarily on kidney care. Through its DaVita Kidney Care business, the company provides outpatient dialysis services for people with chronic kidney failure, including in-center hemodialysis and home-based dialysis options. Its services also include clinical care, education, nutrition support and other resources intended to help patients manage kidney disease.

DaVita also provides broader kidney-care services, including chronic kidney disease management, care coordination and support for patients who may be candidates for kidney transplantation.