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☆ Walgreens posts loss on $6.5 bln opioid litigation charge
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 5 (Reuters) - Drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (WBA.O) reported a net quarterly loss on Thursday as it took a $6.5 billion opioid litigation charge, sending its shares down nearly 2% in premarket trade. CVS took a pre-tax charge of $5.2 billion in its third quarter related to the settlement. It administered about 8 million vaccines in the first quarter down from 15.6 million in the same period a year earlier. In November, Walgreens said it was acquiring urgent care provider Summit Health through its VillageMD unit in a deal valued at $9 bln to expand its healthcare footprint. Excluding items, the company earned $1.16 per share in the first quarter, above Refinitiv IBES estimates of $1.14 a share.

Jan 5 (Reuters) - Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA.O) said on Thursday it will not strike new deals in the short term after a spate of acquisitions in recent years, as it focuses on ramping up sales at its newer healthcare business. "We're not considering any M&A type activity in the short term. We need to focus on integration activities," Chief Financial Officer James Kehoe said in a post-earnings conference call. Walgreens said same-store pharmacy sales rose 4.8% in the reported quarter from a year earlier, but below Evercore ISI's estimates of 5% growth. Net loss attributable to Walgreens was $3.72 billion, for the quarter ended Nov. 30, compared with a profit of $3.58 billion, a year earlier.

☆ Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) Q1 earnings 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Walgreens Boots Alliance on Thursday reported fiscal first quarter earnings beat Wall Street's estimates Thursday after an early flu season boosted demand for cough and cold medicine. The company said it also raised its full-year revenue outlook due in part to its U.S. health care segment's just-sealed acquisition of Summit Health. The company is in the process of acquiring CareCentrix, which coordinates home care for patients after they're discharged from the hospital, and Shields Health Solutions, a specialty pharmacy company. The acquisition led Walgreens to increase its full year sales guidance to $133.5 billion to $137.5 billion. The company is also maintaining its full-year earnings per share guidance of $4.45 to $4.65, compared to estimates of $4.50.

☆ Health-insurance upstart Clover touted enormous revenues from a new federal program to boost its Chamath Palihapitiya-backed SPAC deal. Now it's slashing its participation after results that one analy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Clover Health bet big on a controversial new Medicare program with a huge revenue opportunity. Clover Health is slashing its footprint in a key federal program that the health-insurance upstart has bet big on since 2021. The direct-contracting program aims to lower costs for Medicare by changing up how doctors caring for traditional Medicare patients are paid. But Clover lost money during the first year of the program. This article was initially published on November 8 and has been updated with information about Clover's performance in the direct-contracting program in 2021.

☆ Cowen upgrades Walgreens, says stock can rally more than 30% as company grows health care business
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance offer an attractive risk-reward to investors as the company transforms into a health care services-focused business, according to Cowen. Instead, he views massive growth opportunities for the company as it ramps up investments in health care services. "We view the risk/reward as very attractive, and believe investors should take the risk, given near-term support from 4.8% dividend yield." He expects additional upside from Walgreens' latest health care investments and offerings, including its acquisition of CareCentrix and the addition of Summit Health following its merger with VillageMD . Walgreens' current valuation also takes into account the macro risks concerning some investors and weighing on analysts' targets, he added.

☆ Goldman’s official 2023 outlook is here: Where it thinks the market is headed and what to buy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Goldman Sachs is predicting zero earnings growth in 2023, with stocks ending the next year essentially flat. The firm is pegging 2023 S & P 500 earnings-per-share flat at $224 and the index ending next year at 4,000, just over 1% from Monday's close. The bank's EPS yield for the next 12 months is 14%, while its estimated EPS will decline by 12% in 2023, according to Goldman. Walgreens's EPS yield for the next 12 months is 11% and its estimated 2023 earnings growth is 2%, Goldman found. Its next-12-month EPS yield is 7% and its estimated EPS growth for 2023 is 4%, according to Goldman.

☆ 3 reasons a major health insurer just made a $2.7 billion bet on a Walgreens-backed effort to upend healthcare
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The deal would give it a stake in VillageMD, an annual dividend, and a push toward value-based care. VillageMD said this week that it plans to merge with fellow primary-care provider Summit Health-CityMD in an $8.9 billion deal funded in part by the healthcare giant Cigna. VillageMD CEO Tim Barry Courtesy VillageMD3 reasons why Cigna's investing $2.7 billion in VillageMDEvanko said the investment provides financial and strategic benefits for Cigna. That stake would provide the healthcare company, which reported profits of $5.4 billion in 2021, with an annual dividend of about 5.5% on $2 billion of the $2.7 billion investment, Evanko said, according to a transcript from Sentieo. Evernorth could take what it learns from partnering with VillageMD and extend those capabilities to other healthcare providers it works with, he said.

☆ Buy Walgreens as it ramps up its health care strategy, JPMorgan says in upgrade
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

It's time to buy Walgreens Boots Alliance as it makes notable progress in its health care strategy, according to JPMorgan. Analyst Lisa Gill upgraded the stock to overweight from neutral as the drugstore chain works to revamp its business and focus on health care. "The faster than expected ramp in Walgreens Healthcare, creates the potential for the segment to be a material contributor in the medium-term," she added. This month, VillageMD, a primary care company that is majority owned by Walgreens, said it's acquiring Summit Health, the parent company of urgent care clinics CityMD, for $8.9 billion. Walgreens' other acquisitions include acquiring CareCentrix , an at-home care company.

☆ EXCLUSIVE Carlyle seeks to line up bid for urgent care provider Heritage -sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( David Carnevali | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Carlyle, a Washington, D.C.-based buyout firm, has been in discussions with other private equity firms about assembling a consortium that would make an offer to acquire HPN, the sources said. HPN generates annual cash flow of around $600 million, according to the sources. Merkin grew the Los Angeles-based company into a managed care powerhouse in the Californian market, where it serves nearly 700,000 individuals. Earlier this month, primary care provider VillageMD, which is backed by Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (WBA.O), said it would acquire private equity-owned urgent care provider Summit Health in a deal valued at $9 billion. Amazon agreed in July to buy primary care provider One Medical for $3.49 billion, while CVS inked a deal in September to acquire Signify Health for $8 billion.

☆ A top Cigna exec shares 3 key reasons the health insurer just bet $2.7 billion on Walgreens-backed primary-care upstart VillageMD
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Cigna is putting $2.7 billion behind primary-care company VillageMD's merger with Summit Health-CityMD. The deal would give it a stake in VillageMD, an annual dividend, and a push toward value-based care. VillageMD said this week that it plans to merge with fellow primary-care provider Summit Health-CityMD in an $8.9 billion deal funded in part by the healthcare giant Cigna. VillageMD CEO Tim Barry Courtesy VillageMD3 reasons why Cigna's investing $2.7 billion in VillageMDEvanko said the investment provides financial and strategic benefits for Cigna. Evernorth could take what it learns from partnering with VillageMD and extend those capabilities to other healthcare providers it works with, he said.

Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) jumped over 6% following a report that the company was planning to begin large-scale layoffs this week. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 1 2Unofficially, the S&P 500 climbed 0.96% to end the session at 3,806.90 points. S&P 500 by market capOf the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes, eight rose, led by communication services (.SPLRCL) which was up 1.83%, followed by a 1.73% gain in energy (.SPNY). Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500 (.AD.SPX) by a 2.8-to-one ratio. The S&P 500 posted 18 new highs and 15 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 93 new highs and 221 new lows.

[1/4] Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., November 7, 2022. Traders are now betting on 61% odds of a 50-basis point rate hike at the U.S. central bank's meeting in December. Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) climbed 5.4% following a report that the company was planning to begin large-scale layoffs this week. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.14-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.02-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded 15 new 52-week highs and 11 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 58 new highs and 145 new lows.

[1/2] A Wall Street sign outside the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, New York, U.S., October 2, 2020. A split government could result in political gridlock that stymies major policy changes, an outcome that investors see as favorable for equities. Shares of Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) climbed 5.4% following a report that the company was planning to begin large-scale layoffs this week. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 1.31-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.10-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded six new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 43 new highs and 95 new lows.

☆ Walgreens-backed VillageMD to buy Summit Health in $9 billion deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 7 (Reuters) - Primary care provider VillageMD, which is backed by Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (WBA.O), is buying urgent care provider Summit Health in a deal valued at nearly $9 billion, as the No. Private equity firm Warburg Pincus-backed Summit Health runs an independent physician-run medical groups, and also operates CityMD, which acts as alternatives to hospital emergency department visits. Walgreens also raised its fiscal year 2025 sales goal for U.S. healthcare business to $14.5 billion to $16.0 billion, from $11.0 billion to $12.0 billion previously to account for the deal. Together, VillageMD and Summit Health will have a presence in more than 680 locations. Summit Health and CityMD had merged in August 2019, with the company now having over 13,000 employees and operating in over 370 locations.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Carvana, Meta, Palantir, Viatris, Walgreens and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Check out the companies making the biggest moves midday:Carvana — Carvana shares shed more than 15%, with trading briefly halted at one point due to volatility. Walgreens raised its fiscal year 2025 sales goal for its U.S. health-care business to $14.5 billion to $16.0 billion, from $11.0 billion to $12.0 billion to account for the deal. Viatris — The global health-care company rallied 16% after it announced it intends to create an ophthalmology franchise by acquiring Oyster Point Pharma and Famy Life Sciences. The toymaker's shares shed nearly 60% last Friday after it delivered disappointing quarterly results and issued a weak forward guidance that included a fourth-quarter loss. DoorDash — Shares of the food delivery company rallied 2.5% after being upgraded by Oppenheimer to outperform from perform.

☆ CVS Health raises outlook as third quarter results beat estimates
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Jack Stebbins | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

CVS Health reported third quarter earnings Wednesday morning that beat Wall Street's expectations. CVS' Health Care Benefits segment grew nearly 10% compared to the same quarter last year, driven in part by an increase in its medical memberships from 2021. CVS encompasses a large swath of health care services, including its prescription and over-the-counter medicine sales, its MinuteClinic patient care services and its pharmacy benefits manager, CVS Caremark. The retailer has signaled a renewed focus on health care this quarter, announcing its purchase of Signify, an at-home health care company, for $8 billion in September. The move mirrors Amazon and Walgreens own expansions further into health care services.

☆ Walgreens Chases Customers It Lost During Covid Focus
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Katie Deighton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. is planning to reinvigorate its pharmacy business partly through a marketing push designed to regain customers that stopped spending with the chain during the Covid-19 pandemic. The program lets executives analyze where customers are shopping and what they are buying, and use that information to reach out to them with more personalized marketing, Ms. “This is primarily a digital plan.”Walgreens plans to assess data to group customers into various communities, depending on what their needs are and where they shop, according to Ms. Brown, the customer chief. But a community of “support seekers,” who may need more pharmacy support, would be targeted with marketing around a store’s pharmacy services, Ms. Brown said. Walgreens in May named former Calvin Klein executive Linh Peters as its chief marketing officer, in part because of her experience leading marketing and loyalty programs at Starbucks, Best Buy, Target and Ulta.

☆ Walgreens beats sales expectations, as it expands its health-care business
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Melissa Repko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Walgreens Boots Alliance on Thursday exceeded fiscal fourth quarter sales and earnings expectations, as the drugstore chain turns itself into a more health-care focused company. At the end of the quarter, Walgreens had a total of 334 doctor offices with VillageMD. Covid vaccines, which boosted Walgreens' sales and foot traffic, have fallen off significantly. It had fourth quarter sales of $5.1 billion, a drop of 6.6% from the year-ago period. Its U.S. digital sales growth grew 14% in the fourth quarter, on top of an 82% increase in the year-ago period.

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