Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Down 5.6% Following Analyst Downgrade

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 5.6% during trading on Tuesday after TD Cowen lowered their price target on the stock from $16.00 to $14.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Walgreens Boots Alliance traded as low as $9.84 and last traded at $9.86. Approximately 10,648,625 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 17,130,785 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.45.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $13.21.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBA. Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the second quarter valued at $1,215,000. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 2,038,878 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $24,660,000 after purchasing an additional 198,891 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $795,000. Clifford Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 58.4% during the second quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 803,204 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $9,715,000 after buying an additional 296,135 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 89.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 349,464 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $7,580,000 after buying an additional 165,389 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $9.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.93.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.85% and a positive return on equity of 14.23%. The company had revenue of $37.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. Walgreens Boots Alliance's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Walgreens Boots Alliance

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.