Leerink Partnrs Has Weak Outlook for CVS Health Q2 Earnings

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) – Leerink Partnrs lowered their Q2 2025 EPS estimates for shares of CVS Health in a research note issued on Thursday, May 1st. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now expects that the pharmacy operator will earn $1.45 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.54. Leerink Partnrs has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for CVS Health’s current full-year earnings is $5.89 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for CVS Health’s Q3 2025 earnings at $1.19 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.27 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $6.16 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $7.17 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $8.29 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $9.39 EPS.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.63. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. The business had revenue of $94.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

CVS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Argus set a $77.00 price target on CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on CVS Health from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.69.

CVS Health Price Performance

CVS stock opened at $67.49 on Monday. CVS Health has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $72.51. The business has a fifty day moving average of $66.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.79. The stock has a market cap of $85.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Institutional Trading of CVS Health

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $839,574,000. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,039,777 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,739,927,000 after purchasing an additional 12,819,148 shares during the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 2,998.1% during the 4th quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 11,385,950 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $511,115,000 after purchasing an additional 11,018,438 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in CVS Health by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 70,105,899 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,147,054,000 after buying an additional 7,075,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $880,319,000 after acquiring an additional 6,475,271 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In related news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at $556,941.90. The trade was a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.68%.

About CVS Health

CVS Health Corporation provides health solutions in the United States. It operates through Health Care Benefits, Health Services, and Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness segments. The Health Care Benefits segment offers traditional, voluntary, and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services.