Leerink Partners Raises Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Price Target to $268.00

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Leerink Partners from $240.00 to $268.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Leerink Partners’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 16.98% from the company’s current price.

CAH has been the topic of a number of other reports. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Barclays began coverage on Cardinal Health in a research note on Monday, December 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $243.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $221.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $224.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.21.

Cardinal Health Trading Up 0.8%

CAH opened at $229.11 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $54.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.37, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $206.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.50. Cardinal Health has a 1-year low of $120.72 and a 1-year high of $229.76.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $65.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.88 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 84.37% and a net margin of 0.68%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CAH. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,441,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,461,179,000 after acquiring an additional 617,775 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 3.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,389,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,069,005,000 after buying an additional 205,539 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 153.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,804,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $911,010,000 after acquiring an additional 3,511,579 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Cardinal Health by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,592,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $563,922,000 after acquiring an additional 111,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 14.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,483,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $546,724,000 after purchasing an additional 445,425 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Cardinal Health

Here are the key news stories impacting Cardinal Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 beat — Cardinal posted fiscal Q2 results that topped estimates: non‑GAAP EPS $2.63 (vs. ~ $2.31–$2.39 consensus) and revenue ~$65.6B (+19% y/y). GAAP and non‑GAAP operating earnings rose materially year-over-year. Cardinal Health Reports Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Results and Raises Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Raised FY26 outlook — Management raised fiscal‑year non‑GAAP EPS guidance to $10.15–$10.35 (a second upward revision), signaling confidence in sustained strength. That guidance boost is a key driver of the rally. Cardinal Health boosts annual profit forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Specialty drug tailwinds & capital return — Management cited strong demand for specialty medicines (including GLP‑1 related activity) as a growth driver; the company also completed its $750M baseline share‑repurchase and said it’s in its targeted leverage range. These items support EPS growth and shareholder returns. Cardinal Health boosts annual profit forecast banking on surging demand for specialty drugs
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/market commentary supportive — Earnings‑call takeaways and analyst notes emphasize a broad‑based upswing across segments and lifted 2026 EPS estimates, which is reinforcing buy interest. Cardinal Health’s Earnings Call Highlights Broad-Based Upswing
• Neutral Sentiment: Readouts available — Full earnings call transcript and slide deck were posted (useful for modeling segment-level drivers and cadence of margin improvement). Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/context — Market coverage notes the stock cleared its 52‑week high on the results; momentum can attract short‑term flows but also increases scrutiny. Cardinal Health Smashes 52-Week High After Strong Quarter
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and legacy profitability metrics — The stock now trades at a relatively rich multiple (PE ~34) and public filings show a negative trailing ROE figure (reflecting past charges/financial structure), which could temper upside if growth slows. Monitor guidance execution and margin sustainability. CAH stock profile and metrics

About Cardinal Health

Cardinal Health is a multinational healthcare services and products company headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. Tracing its roots to the early 1970s, the company has grown into a major provider of supply chain and distribution services for the healthcare sector. Cardinal Health operates across a range of service lines that support hospitals, health systems, pharmacies, physician offices and clinical laboratories.

The company’s core activities include the wholesale distribution of branded and generic pharmaceuticals, the supply and distribution of medical-surgical products, and the provision of logistics and inventory management solutions.