Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,630,000 shares, an increase of 5.2% from the December 15th total of 3,450,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,940,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ELV. StockNews.com raised shares of Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Elevance Health from $600.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Elevance Health from $605.00 to $555.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Raymond James set a $485.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Elevance Health from $585.00 to $505.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $536.53.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ELV. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in Elevance Health by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,048,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Elevance Health by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its position in Elevance Health by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $833,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,717,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at $16,311,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ELV traded down $1.00 on Monday, reaching $384.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,696,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,457,754. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.50. Elevance Health has a 52-week low of $362.21 and a 52-week high of $567.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $388.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $466.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.01, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.84.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.66 by ($1.29). Elevance Health had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 3.68%. The company had revenue of $44.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $8.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Elevance Health will post 32.96 EPS for the current year.

About Elevance Health

Elevance Health, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a health benefits company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Health Benefits, CarelonRx, Carelon Services, and Corporate & Other. It offers a variety of health plans and services to program members; health products; an array of fee-based administrative managed care services; and specialty and other insurance products and services, such as stop loss, dental, vision, life, disability, and supplemental health insurance benefits.