Short Interest in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Decreases By 20.2%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 36,690,000 shares, a decrease of 20.2% from the March 15th total of 45,950,000 shares. Currently, 5.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 25,490,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:WBA opened at $10.89 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $8.08 and a twelve month high of $18.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.14. The company has a market cap of $9.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.67.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 8th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $38.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.90 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 17.61% and a negative net margin of 5.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Walgreens Boots Alliance

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WBA. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.1% in 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 boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 49.2% in the fourth 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 period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 28.6% in the first quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 4,500 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 12,893 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $120,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 23,815 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.59.

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.