Walgreens Boots Alliance Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:WBA)

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 29,396 call options on the stock. Thisrepresentsanincreaseofapproximately88% compared to the average daily volume of 15,651 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 79.5% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 2,928 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,297 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Curat Global LLC bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 135.8% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,152 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,815 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen started coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $10.59.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WBA opened at $11.92 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s 50-day moving average is $11.65 and its 200 day moving average is $11.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.60. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a fifty-two week low of $8.08 and a fifty-two week high of $13.25.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.04. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 4.07% and a positive return on equity of 17.66%. The firm had revenue of $38.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

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.