DaVita (NYSE:DVA) Shares Cross Below 50-Day Moving Average on Analyst Downgrade

DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA)’s share price passed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Tuesday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $224.00 to $216.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $181.68 and traded as low as $180.05. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. DaVita shares last traded at $181.6550, with a volume of 755,676 shares changing hands.

DVA has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on DaVita from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of DaVita from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of DaVita from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Oppenheimer set a $220.00 price target on shares of DaVita in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $220.00 price objective on shares of DaVita in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, DaVita currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.86.

More DaVita News

Here are the key news stories impacting DaVita this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target to $228 from $220 and reiterated a Buy rating, indicating confidence in DaVita’s potential. TD Cowen rating
• Neutral Sentiment: DaVita’s CFO and investor-relations head are scheduled to participate in fireside chats at two healthcare-investor conferences on Nov. 9 and 10; the announcement did not disclose new financial guidance. Conference announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation on behalf of DaVita investors, and the Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz said it is investigating potential securities-fraud claims tied to company disclosures on Oct. 20. These are investigations, not findings of wrongdoing, but add legal uncertainty. Pomerantz investigation notice Cruz investigation notice
• Negative Sentiment: A report says Berkshire Hathaway sold about $69 million of DaVita shares, alongside concerns about HHS kidney-care reforms and the securities-fraud probe. The sale may be viewed as a negative signal, although the report headline alone does not establish Berkshire’s reason for selling. Berkshire sale report
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays cut its price target to $216 from $224 and maintained an Equal Weight rating, tempering the more bullish view from TD Cowen. Barclays rating

Institutional Trading of DaVita

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DVA. Value Investment Professionals LLC increased its stake in DaVita by 2.0% in the second quarter. Value Investment Professionals LLC now owns 2,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC raised its holdings in DaVita by 0.8% in the first quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 6,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of DaVita by 1.9% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of DaVita by 4.1% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of DaVita by 161.7% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. 90.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

DaVita Trading Down 2.2%

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $181.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.29. The company has a market cap of $11.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.87.

DaVita (NYSE:DVA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.52 billion. DaVita had a negative return on equity of 225.93% and a net margin of 6.49%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.51 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that DaVita Inc. will post 14.66 EPS for the current year.

DaVita Company Profile

DaVita Inc (NYSE: DVA) is a health care services company focused on kidney care. Through its DaVita Kidney Care business, the company provides outpatient dialysis treatments for people with chronic kidney failure, including in-center hemodialysis, home dialysis and related clinical support services.

DaVita also offers integrated kidney care programs intended to support patients across the stages of chronic kidney disease. Its services may include care coordination, disease management, education, transplant support and other services designed to improve clinical outcomes and help manage the needs of patients with complex kidney conditions.

The company operates a network of dialysis centers and related facilities in the United States and serves patients in select international markets.