Ardent Health (NYSE:ARDT) Given New $15.00 Price Target at Leerink Partners

Ardent Health (NYSE:ARDT) had its price target lowered by investment analysts at Leerink Partners from $16.00 to $15.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Leerink Partners’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 66.85% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on ARDT. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Ardent Health from $21.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ardent Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ardent Health in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $12.00 target price (down from $22.00) on shares of Ardent Health in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Ardent Health from $20.00 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.50.

Ardent Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARDT traded down $0.45 on Friday, hitting $8.99. The company had a trading volume of 110,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 405,836. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 9.36, a PEG ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 0.46. Ardent Health has a 52-week low of $8.07 and a 52-week high of $15.48. The business has a 50 day moving average of $9.01 and a 200 day moving average of $11.03.

Ardent Health (NYSE:ARDT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.03). Ardent Health had a net margin of 2.15% and a return on equity of 14.46%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. Ardent Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.900-1.270 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ardent Health will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ardent Health

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARDT. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Ardent Health by 103.8% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 7,182 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ardent Health by 1,684.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 767,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,558,000 after acquiring an additional 724,841 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ardent Health by 235.1% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 57,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $790,000 after acquiring an additional 40,318 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Ardent Health by 574.9% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 40,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 34,276 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in Ardent Health by 990.6% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001 shares during the period.

Key Stories Impacting Ardent Health

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company announced an operational “impact” program and expansion of AI-driven care that it says could drive $485M–$535M of EBITDA in 2026 — a potential long?term earnings lever if realized. Ardent outlines $485M-$535M 2026 EBITDA target
• Neutral Sentiment: Management held its Q4 earnings call and posted related slides/transcript — useful for investors wanting management commentary on collectability, reserve methodology and the impact program. Review the transcript and slide deck for details on assumptions. Q4 2025 earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results missed estimates — $0.32 EPS vs. $0.35 consensus and revenue $1.61B vs. $1.63B — and management cut FY?2026 EPS guidance to $0.90–$1.27 versus a ~$1.40 consensus, creating near?term earnings disappointment. Earnings, guidance and press materials
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms have filed or solicited plaintiffs in a securities class action tied to a Nov. 2025 disclosure about receivable reserving (an alleged “180?day cliff”) and an asserted $97M accounting shock — increasing legal overhang and investor uncertainty. Note a March 9 deadline for lead?plaintiff applications. Hagens Berman investor alert on alleged accounting issues
• Negative Sentiment: Follow?on notices from several national firms (Rosen, Robbins Geller, Pomerantz, BFA, others) amplify the litigation narrative and may pressure the stock while uncertainty persists. RGRD Law class action notice

Ardent Health Company Profile

Ardent Health, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker ARDT, is a healthcare delivery company focused on acquiring, developing and managing acute care hospitals and complementary outpatient facilities across the United States. The company’s integrated platform encompasses both inpatient and outpatient services, designed to provide end-to-end care solutions and address the full continuum of patient needs.

Through its network, Ardent Health operates general hospitals, emergency departments, ambulatory surgery centers, urgent care clinics, rehabilitation and post-acute care facilities.