Craig Hallum Upgrades eHealth (NASDAQ:EHTH) to Buy

eHealth (NASDAQ:EHTH) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Craig Hallum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $7.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $5.00. Craig Hallum’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 25.90% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on EHTH. StockNews.com upgraded shares of eHealth from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of eHealth from $5.00 to $2.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th.

eHealth Trading Up 10.8 %

NASDAQ:EHTH opened at $5.56 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.65. eHealth has a twelve month low of $3.58 and a twelve month high of $9.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.06 and a beta of 0.49.

eHealth (NASDAQ:EHTH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported ($1.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $65.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.79 million. eHealth had a negative return on equity of 4.03% and a negative net margin of 6.32%. On average, analysts predict that eHealth will post -1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. DSC Advisors L.P. raised its position in shares of eHealth by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. DSC Advisors L.P. now owns 600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,718,000 after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of eHealth by 104.7% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 257,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after buying an additional 131,772 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of eHealth by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 194,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $794,000 after buying an additional 58,540 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of eHealth by 307.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 175,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $797,000 after buying an additional 132,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in eHealth by 77.9% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 158,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $717,000 after acquiring an additional 69,246 shares during the last quarter. 79.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About eHealth

eHealth, Inc operates a health insurance marketplace that provides consumer engagement, education, and health insurance enrollment solutions in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Medicare; and Employer and Individual. The Medicare segment offers sale of Medicare-related health insurance plans, which includes Medicare advantage, Medicare Supplement, and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans to Medicare-eligible customers including but not limited to, dental, and vision insurance, as well as advertising program for marketing and other services.