Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,420,000 shares, a growth of 10.0% from the September 15th total of 2,200,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,030,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company's shares are sold short.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of ELV traded down $25.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $483.87. The company had a trading volume of 2,235,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,027,309. The firm has a market cap of $112.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The business has a fifty day moving average of $531.66 and a 200-day moving average of $529.09. Elevance Health has a 12 month low of $435.99 and a 12 month high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $10.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.99 by $0.13. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.89% and a return on equity of 20.64%. The firm had revenue of $43.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.99 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.04 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Elevance Health will post 37.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $531.52, for a total value of $400,234.56. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,647,610.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Robert L. Dixon, Jr. sold 305 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $506.76, for a total transaction of $154,561.80. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,926,213.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $531.52, for a total transaction of $400,234.56. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,647,610.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,058 shares of company stock valued at $17,588,116. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ELV. Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $137,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Elevance Health by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,677 shares of the company's stock worth $1,262,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at $111,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Elevance Health by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 899 shares of the company's stock valued at $424,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Elevance Health by 109.2% during the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,416 shares of the company's stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Elevance Health from $624.00 to $589.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Elevance Health from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays upped their price target on Elevance Health from $611.00 to $622.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $600.00 to $593.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $605.07.

Elevance Health Company Profile

Elevance Health, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a health benefits company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Health Benefits, CarelonRx, Carelon Services, and Corporate & Other. It offers a variety of health plans and services to program members; health products; an array of fee-based administrative managed care services; and specialty and other insurance products and services, such as stop loss, dental, vision, life, disability, and supplemental health insurance benefits.