Leerink Partners Issues Pessimistic Forecast for CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Stock Price

Posted by Brian Himes on Nov 7th, 2026

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS – Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by equities researchers at Leerink Partners from $112.00 to $104.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the pharmacy operator’s stock. Leerink Partners‘s price target points to a potential upside of 24.17% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on CVS. Argus increased their target price on CVS Health from $104.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their price target on CVS Health from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group set a $110.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.25.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on CVS

CVS Health Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:CVS traded up $2.43 during trading on Thursday, reaching $83.76. The stock had a trading volume of 16,092,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,249,097. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $107.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.75, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $90.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.89. CVS Health has a fifty-two week low of $69.51 and a fifty-two week high of $110.68.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $108.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $104.72 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 13.12%. CVS Health’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that CVS Health will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Prem Shah bought 23,855 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $83.89 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,195.95. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 88,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,425,607.24. The trade was a 36.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in CVS Health by 83.6% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,089,694 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $112,729,000 after purchasing an additional 496,124 shares during the period. BNP Paribas boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 105.2% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 49,971 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $5,154,000 after buying an additional 25,617 shares during the period. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the second quarter worth about $209,813,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 148.0% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 23,188,670 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,398,868,000 after buying an additional 13,836,701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argent Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 238,110 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $20,404,000 after buying an additional 79,822 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting CVS Health

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

Positive Sentiment: Executive Vice President Prem Shah bought 23,855 shares for about $2 million, increasing his direct stake by 36.9%. The sizable purchase may signal confidence in CVS’s prospects. SEC filing
Positive Sentiment: CVS beat third-quarter earnings and revenue estimates and raised its 2026 outlook, with Aetna’s recovery among the factors supporting the improved outlook. Q3 earnings call coverage
Neutral Sentiment: UBS lowered its price target to $107 but maintained a Buy rating, indicating continued optimism while reflecting a more cautious valuation. UBS rating
Negative Sentiment: The planned separation of the retail pharmacy business from the insurance and pharmacy-benefit operations by 2028 has raised questions about execution, costs, and the value of the two businesses. The announcement overshadowed the earnings beat and was followed by a sharp selloff. Breakup and stock reaction
Negative Sentiment: Additional concerns include weaker Medicare ratings and AM Best placing ratings for Aetna subsidiaries under review, creating uncertainty around the insurance business. Medicare ratings coverage

CVS Health Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

CVS Health is a U.S.-based health care company that operates retail pharmacies, provides pharmacy benefit management services, and offers health insurance and other health services. Its businesses include CVS Pharmacy, pharmacy benefit manager CVS Caremark, and Aetna, its health benefits division.

The company also provides care through MinuteClinic walk-in clinics and health care businesses including Oak Street Health and Signify Health. Its services span prescription fulfillment, pharmacy benefit management, health insurance, primary care, and in-home and community-based care.

Founded in 1963 as Consumer Value Stores in Lowell, Massachusetts, the company expanded from a retail pharmacy business into a broad health care organization and adopted the CVS Health name in 2014.