FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

$CVS

14 stories mentioning CVS

Every FINWIRES story that references CVS, newest first.

Wire

UnitedHealth, CVS, Cigna Seen Benefiting From Utilization Trends, AI Upside, Morgan Stanley Says

UnitedHealth (UNH), CVS Health (CVS) and Cigna (CI) are among the managed-care companies that could benefit from improving utilization trends and potential artificial intelligence-driven efficiency gains across the healthcare system, Morgan Stanley said in a note Thursday.The firm said early signs of softer utilization have supported recent gains in managed-care stocks. The group has delivered a series of medical-loss-ratio beats in Q1 and some companies raising guidance. However, it noted that investors are still awaiting clearer confirmation of underlying trends and utilization signals remaining mixed ahead of Q2 results.AI adoption is increasingly embedded across managed-care operations, including prior authorization, call centers, provider portals, care management, pharmacy utilization and payment integrity.Morgan Stanley said UnitedHealth stands out as a leading "AI enabler," particularly through Optum Insight initiatives, which support both efficiency gains and potential revenue upside.The firm's scenario analysis assumes 0.5% to 2.0% AI-driven insurance margin expansion, which could translate into an illustrative 18% to 71% EPS upside across managed-care companies. It added that administrative workflows, particularly prior authorization, remain key areas of automation potential.Morgan Stanley boosted its price targets on UnitedHealth, CVS Health, Elevance Health (ELV), Centene (CNC), Molina Healthcare (MOH), and Humana (HUM).Price: $399.90, Change: $+22.90, Percent Change: +6.07%

$CI$CNC$CVS$ELV$HUM$MOH$UNH
Wire

Top Midday Stories: US Reportedly Reaches Deal With Iran, Needs Trump's Approval; Caesars to be Acquired by Fertitta for $17.6 Billion

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down slightly in late-morning trading Thursday after Axios reported that US and Iranian negotiators have reached an agreement on a 60-day memorandum of understanding that extends the ceasefire and launches negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. The deal is waiting the final approval of President Donald Trump, the report said.The personal consumption expenditures index rose by 0.4% in April, below the 0.5% gain expected, lifting the year-over-year rate to 3.8% from 3.5%. The core PCE price index, which excludes gas and food prices, increased by 0.2%, below the 0.3% gain expected and following a 0.3% gain in March. The year-over-year rate accelerated to 3.3% from 3.2% in the previous month.In company news, Caesars Entertainment (CZR) has agreed to be acquired by Fertitta Entertainment in an all-cash deal valued at $17.6 billion, including the assumption of around $11.9 billion of outstanding debt, Caesars said Thursday. Under the terms of the deal, Caesars shareholders will receive $31 in cash for each share owned, the company said. Caesars shares were up 1.3% around midday.Snowflake (SNOW) reported fiscal Q1 adjusted net income late Wednesday of $0.39 per diluted share, up from $0.24 a year earlier and above the FactSet consensus analyst estimate of $0.32. Fiscal Q1 revenue was $1.39 billion, up from $1.04 billion a year ago and above the FactSet consensus of $1.32 billion. For fiscal Q2, the company said it expects product revenue of $1.415 billion to $1.420 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $1.37 billion. Snowflake shares were up 34.0%.Salesforce (CRM) reported fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings late Wednesday of $3.88 per diluted share, up from $2.58 a year earlier and above the FactSet consensus of $3.13. Fiscal Q1 revenue was $11.13 billion, up from $9.83 billion a year ago and above the FactSet consensus of $11.05 billion. For fiscal Q2, the company said it expects adjusted EPS of $3.25 to $3.27 on revenue of $11.27 billion to $11.35 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet expect $3.25 and $11.35 billion, respectively. Separately, Salesforce will deploy its AI-driven Agentforce Health platform to improve efficiency at CVS Health (CVS) call centers, the companies said Thursday. Salesforce shares were up 0.4%, while CVS shares were up 1.3%.Marvell Technology (MRVL) reported fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings late Wednesday of $0.80 per diluted share, up from $0.62 a year earlier and in line with the FactSet consensus. Fiscal Q1 revenue was $2.42 billion, up from $1.9 billion a year ago and above the FactSet consensus of $2.41 billion. For fiscal Q2, the company said it expects adjusted EPS of $0.93, plus or minus $0.05, on revenue of $2.7 billion, plus or minus 5%. Analysts polled by FactSet expect $0.90 and $2.6 billion, respectively. Marvell shares were down 1.3%.Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM) reported fiscal Q2 adjusted earnings Thursday of 2.54 Canadian dollars ($1.83) per diluted share, up from CA$2.05 a year earlier and above the FactSet consensus of CA$2.46. Fiscal Q2 revenue was CA$8.01 billion, up from CA$7.02 billion a year ago. The bank said it plans to buy for cancellation up to 30 million shares, representing about 3.3% of total outstanding shares. Also, the company has agreed to sell its 91.7% stake in CIBC Caribbean Bank to Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son (NTB) for a total consideration of about $1.6 billion, the acquiring company said. CIBC shares were down 4.6%.Best Buy (BBY) reported fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings Thursday of $1.28 per diluted share, up from $1.15 a year earlier and above the FactSet consensus of $1.23. Fiscal Q1 revenue was $8.94 billion, up from $8.77 billion a year ago and above the FactSet consensus of $8.83 billion. The company reiterated its fiscal 2027 guidance for adjusted EPS of $6.30 to $6.60 and revenue of $41.20 billion to $42.10 billion. Best Buy shares were up 16.3%.Eli Lilly's (LLY) weight-loss drugs secured coverage from the three largest US pharmacy benefit managers, the drugmaker said Thursday. Coverage for Foundayo through CVS Health's CVS Caremark Commercial Template plans will begin Monday, while access for existing Zepbound patients will continue without interruption and expand further by Oct. 1, the company said. Eli Lilly shares were up 4.1%.Price: $29.15, Change: $+0.36, Percent Change: +1.27%

$BBY$CM$CRM$CVS$CZR$LLY$MRVL$NTB$SNOW
Wire

CVS Health's Aetna Cuts Complex Claims Processing Time Over 20% With New AI Platform

CVS Health's (CVS) Aetna unit has cut claims processing times by more than 20% for complex claims that require manual review, using a new AI-powered platform designed to improve accuracy and accelerate payments, the company said Tuesday.The second-generation Aetna Claims Assist Manager integrates eligibility, coverage, member and provider data to automate complex claims workflows, recommend next-best actions, and reduce manual review steps, the company added.Price: $92.25, Change: $-1.03, Percent Change: -1.10%

$CVS
Insider Trading

CVS Health Insider Sold Shares Worth $317,471,136, According to a Recent SEC Filing

Larry Robbins, Director, on May 19, 2026, sold 3,372,000 shares in CVS Health (CVS) for $317,471,136. Following the Form 4 filing with the SEC, Robbins has control over a total of 4,824,799 common shares of the company, with 4,824,799 controlled indirectly.SEC Filing:https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/64803/000090514826002617/xslF345X05/form4.xml

$CVS
Research

Research Alert: CFRA Maintains Buy Rating On Shares Of Cvs Health Corporation

CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:We raise our 12-month price target to $110 from $100, 14.8x our 2026 EPS estimate, above CVS's three-year and five-year average forward multiples of 9.8x and 10.3x, respectively. We raise our 2026 EPS estimate by $0.03 to $7.43 and our 2027 estimate by $0.10 to $8.36. Shares recently yielded 2.8%. While execution risks remain, we think CVS is executing well under its turnaround strategy, supporting our expectations for consistent earnings per share and free cash flow growth through the end of the decade. Though the health insurance operation (Aetna) remains pressured by an environment of elevated medical cost trends, we think Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness appears to be on more stable footing, with the company recently updating long-term segment earnings projections to at least flat vs. the prior view of 5% annual declines. After shedding hundreds of stores as part of its restructuring, the business is expanding to new locations, including smaller, pharmacy-only stores with less general merchandise.

$CVS
Wire

CVS Health Increasingly Likely to Reach 3% Medicare Advantage Target Margin in 2028, RBC Says

CVS Health (CVS) is increasingly more likely to reach its 3% Medicare Advantage target margin in 2028, RBC Capital Markets analyst said in a note Wednesday.Analysts said the company's Q1 adjusted earnings "comfortably" beat expectations, driven by "strong" topline growth and a notable improvement in profitability in the Health Care Benefits segment.Medical costs came in below expectations and, while the company maintained its medical benefit ratio guidance for the year, it is increasingly likely to outperform, according to the note.The brokerage raised its 2026 adjusted earnings estimate for the company to $7.41 from $7.10. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect $7.29.RBC reiterated its outperform rating on the stock and increased its price target to $107 from $93.Price: $87.01, Change: $+0.14, Percent Change: +0.17%

$CVS
Wire

UBS Adjusts Price Target on CVS Health to $100 From $97, Maintains Buy Rating

CVS Health (CVS) has an average rating of overweight and mean price target of $97.54, according to analysts polled by FactSet.(covers equity, commodity and economic research from major banks and research firms in North America, Asia and Europe. Research providers may contact us here: https://www..com/contact-us)Price: $87.26, Change: $+0.40, Percent Change: +0.46%

$CVS
Research

Research Alert: CFRA Raises Rating On Shares Of Cvs Health Corporation To Buy From Hold

CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:We raise our 12-month price target to $100 from $80, 13.5x our 2026 EPS estimate (raised to $7.40 from $7.17; 2027 estimate up to $8.26 from $8.18), above CVS's three-year and five-year average forward multiples of 9.7x and 10.3x, respectively. While headwinds remain for CVS's insurance operations (Aetna) within a challenging medical cost environment, CVS is executing well within its longer-term turnaround strategy with indications of margin improvement, in our view. We also see debt levels declining from recent highs following two major acquisitions in 2023. Although the Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness segment's adjusted operating income declined 8.8% Y/Y to $1.20B during Q1, we see this as the result of seasonal impacts (less severe flu season) and look favorably on CVS raising segment adjusted operating income guidance for 2026 by 1.5%'given stronger performance expectations for the rest of the year. Shares yield 3.1%. We upgrade our rating to Buy from Hold.

$CVS
Sectors

Sector Update: Health Care Stocks Advance Late Afternoon

Health care stocks were higher late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index increasing 0.3% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) adding 0.2%.The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) climbed up 2.1%.In corporate news, Oscar Health (OSCR) shares surged past 10% after the company reported higher Q1 results.DaVita (DVA) shares jumped past 22% after Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to buy from hold and boosted its price target to $220 from $126, a day after the company reported better-than-expected Q1 results.CVS Health (CVS) raised its full-year earnings outlook after reporting better-than-expected Q1 results on improvement in its health-care benefits segment. Its shares gained 8%.Novo Nordisk (NVO) expects generic versions of its Ozempic medication to face approval delays in China until next year, Bloomberg reported, citing the drugmaker. The patent for semaglutide, the main ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, expired in China in March, but the firm said it still has regulatory data protection until April 2027 due to a trade agreement between China and Switzerland, Bloomberg reported. Novo shares rose 2.2%.

$CVS$DVA$NVO$OSCR
Sectors

Sector Update: Health Care Stocks Mixed Wednesday Afternoon

Health care stocks were mixed Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index increasing 0.1% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) shedding 0.1%.The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) climbed 1.8%.In corporate news, CVS Health (CVS) raised its full-year earnings outlook after reporting better-than-expected Q1 results driven by improvement in its health-care benefits segment. Its shares gained 6.8%.Novo Nordisk (NVO) expects generic versions of its Ozempic medication to face approval delays in China until next year, Bloomberg reported, citing the drugmaker. The patent for semaglutide, the main ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, expired in China in March, but the company said it still has regulatory data protection until April 2027 due to a trade agreement between China and Switzerland, Bloomberg reported. Novo shares rose 2.5%.Eli Lilly (LLY) is looking to raise about $8 billion from an investment-grade bond sale to fund an acquisition spree, Bloomberg reported. Lilly shares added 0.3%.

$CVS$LLY$NVO
Sectors

Sector Update: Health Care

Health care stocks were mixed Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index increasing 0.1% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) shedding 0.2%.The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) climbed 1.7%.In corporate news, CVS Health (CVS) raised its full-year earnings outlook after reporting better-than-expected Q1 results driven by improvement in its health-care benefits segment. Its shares gained 6.7%.

$CVS
US Markets

CVS Health Raises 2026 Outlook After First-Quarter Beat

CVS Health (CVS) raised its full-year earnings outlook after reporting better-than-expected first-quarter results driven by improvement in its health-care benefits segment.The company raised its 2026 adjusted earnings guidance to $7.30 to $7.50 a share from its previous projection of $7 to $7.20. The consensus on FactSet is $7.16."We are also updating our outlook for full-year cash flow from operations to at least $9.5 billion, reflecting improved underlying performance, primarily related to working capital in our health-care benefits segment," Chief Financial Officer Brian Newman said on the earnings call, according to a FactSet transcript.The stock jumped 7.3% in Wednesday trading and has gained 9.1% this year.CVS maintained its medical benefit ratio guidance, which represents the percentage of premiums spent on medical benefits."This outlook continues to maintain the same respectful and prudent view on medical cost trends until we have greater visibility into how those trends are developing in our pharmacy and consumer wellness segment," Newman said.In the first quarter, adjusted EPS rose to $2.57 from $2.25 a year earlier as revenue climbed 6.2% to $100.43 billion. Wall Street expected EPS of $2.18 on revenue of $94.97 billion.Sales in the health care benefits segment advanced 3.3% to $35.97 billion. "This increase was primarily driven by our government business, partially offset by our exit from the individual exchange business in 2026," Newman said.Revenue in the health-services segment rose 11% to $48.24 billion, while pharmacy and consumer wellness was little changed at $31.99 billion.Price: $86.61, Change: $+5.92, Percent Change: +7.34%

$CVS
Research

Research Alert: Cvs Health: Mbr Improvement Supports Q1 Eps Beat, Guidance Boost

CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:CVS Health delivered strong Q1 2026 results, with total revenues rising 6.2% to $100.4B and adjusted EPS of $2.57 (vs. $2.25 in the prior year), beating the $2.21 consensus estimate. Health Care Benefits was the standout performer, with adjusted operating income surging 52.6% to $3.04B and its medical benefit ratio improving meaningfully to 84.6% from 87.3%, supported by improved Government business performance. Based on the strong first quarter results, CVS raised full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $7.30-$7.50 from $7.00-$7.20 and its cash flow target to at least $9.5B from $9.0B. Medical membership declined to 26.0M from 27.1M, primarily due to CVS's exit from the individual exchange business, partially offset by Commercial membership growth. Health Services posted mixed results with 11.0% revenue growth but a 7.1% operating income decline. We note the company maintained a cautious outlook on elevated cost trends and potential macroeconomic headwinds despite the strong quarter.

$CVS
US Markets

Stocks Rise Pre-Bell, Oil Prices Fall After Report Says US, Iran Nearing Peace Agreement

The main US stock measures were pointing higher in Wednesday's premarket activity, while oil prices declined after a media report said the US and Iran are nearing a potential agreement to end their conflict.The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7% each before the opening bell, while the Nasdaq advanced 1.2%. The indexes finished the previous trading session in the green, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closing with new highs.Washington is nearing an agreement with Tehran on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end their conflict in the Middle East and establish a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations, Axios reported Wednesday, citing two US officials and two other sources familiar with the matter.In a social media post on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said the US is temporarily pausing "Project Freedom," its effort to guide neutral ships locked up in the Strait of Hormuz out of the crucial waterway. Trump noted that the US blockade on Iranian ports will remain in effect.US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly said Tuesday that the ceasefire agreement with Iran remained intact despite recently renewed tensions in the Gulf region.West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 9.3% to $92.88 a barrel in premarket action, while Brent fell 8.3% to $100.77.Treasury yields slipped before the open, with the two-year rate retreating 7.3 basis points to 3.87% and the 10-year rate off 6.8 basis points to 4.35%.Walt Disney (DIS), Uber Technologies (UBER), CVS Health (CVS), Marriott International (MAR), Johnson Controls International (JCI), Restaurant Brands International (QSR), Kraft Heinz (KHC) and Performance Food Group (PFGC) are some of the major companies scheduled to report their latest financial results before the bell, among others.Arm Holdings (ARM), Applovin (APP), DoorDash (DASH) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) post earnings after the markets close.Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) jumped 18% pre-bell after the chipmaker reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter results. Novo Nordisk's (NVO) US-listed stock climbed 7.5% as the Danish pharmaceutical giant issued an improved full-year sales outlook. Arista Networks (ANET) declined 8.1% after it issued a downbeat second-quarter revenue outlook.Wednesday's economic calendar has the weekly mortgage applications bulletin at 7 am ET, followed by the ADP Employment report for April at 8:15 am. The weekly EIA domestic petroleum inventories report is out at 10:30 am.Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President Alberto Musalem is slated to speak at 9:30 am, while Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee speaks at 1 pm.Gold increased 3.1% to $4,710 per troy ounce, while bitcoin moved up 0.8% to $82,210.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$AMD$ANET$APP$ARM$CVS$DASH$DIS$JCI$KHC$MAR$NVO$PFGC$QSR$UBER$WBD