Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Short Interest Down 27.0% in March

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 45,950,000 shares, a decrease of 27.0% from the February 28th total of 62,970,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 25,450,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 6.5% of the company's shares are short sold.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 0.1 %

WBA stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $11.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,678,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,935,705. The firm's 50-day moving average is $10.80 and its 200-day moving average is $9.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 12 month low of $8.08 and a 12 month high of $21.74. The company has a market cap of $9.64 billion, a PE ratio of -1.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.62.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.13. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 17.61% and a negative net margin of 5.87%. The company had revenue of $39.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $37.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. Walgreens Boots Alliance's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Walgreens Boots Alliance from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.59.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 4,757 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,685 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 12,893 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 23,815 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 1,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 28,389 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 1,165 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is currently 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.