CVS Health Reward 'Positively Skewed' as Business Stabilizes

By Steve Gelsi

Leerink boosts CVS to a 'buy' as the healthcare-company's stock stays hot.

CVS Health Corp.'s stock rose Thursday after the drugstore and healthcare-services company picked up an analyst upgrade on the heels of beating its quarterly profit expectations by a wide margin, and making strides in its pharmacy-benefit-manager business.

CVS stock (CVS) was up 3.5%, on top of a 15% rise in the previous session after posting a stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter profit.

Leerink Partners analyst Michael Cherny raised his rating on CVS to buy from market perform and lifted his price target for the stock by $20 to $75 a share.

CVS is starting to benefit from stabilization in its Aetna health-insurance and pharmacy-benefits businesses, he said.

CVS's earnings projections are "likely driving more upside than downside" against Leerink's performance estimates for the company, he said.

"The stock remains at a discounted level versus historical ranges," Cherny said. "The peer set may offer growth-adjusted valuation that are also appealing, but for CVS, it is closer to the end of its issues than these peers."

Including Thursday's moves, CVS's stock is now up 45.7% in 2025, while the S&P 500 SPX has risen 3.4%.

-Steve Gelsi

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CVS Health has an average rating of overweight and mean price target of $68.32, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

CVS Health has an average rating of overweight and mean price target of $68.14, according to analysts polled by FactSet.