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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBA has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group dropped 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. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $21.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Monday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.36.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 3.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $15.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.95.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In related news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,150. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari acquired 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,150. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Manmohan Mahajan acquired 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,235,859.22. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 13,456 shares of company stock valued at $270,423. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WBA. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 308.4% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,241.8% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 981 shares during the period. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2,314.5% during the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.