Humana (HUM): Thoughts On Potential Walmart Acquisition - Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst, Steven Halper, reiterated his Neutral rating on shares of Humana (NYSE: HUM) after the Journal announced that Walmart is in preliminary discussions to acquire Humana. The analyst believes Humana is potentially an attractive asset for Walmart (NYSE: WMT) as it would help to diversify its revenue stream (away from retail) and to help drive traffic to its stores.

The analyst is not surprised by the announcement and stated "WMT is already a large pharmacy provider by itself. Statista indicates that WMT had 5% market share of US prescriptions filled in 2016 compared to CVS at 23%, Walgreens at about 14% and Express Scripts at 11%. Over the years, WMT has explored several different health care initiatives including in-store health care clinics and sales of individual insurance plans. Humana already partners with Walmart for its Medicare Part D plan, but our industry contacts suggest that HUM has been minimizing its relationship with WMT recently".

No change to the price target of $250.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Humana click here. For more ratings news on Humana click here.

Shares of Humana closed at $268.83 yesterday.

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