Deutsche Bank analyst George Hill upgraded Walgreens Boosts Alliance (NASDAQ: WBA) from Hold to Buy with a price target of $50.00 (from $41.00).

The analyst comments "We are upgrading WBA shares to Buy as we recently hosted a meeting with senior management at Walgreens (CEO, CFO, head of pharmacy), where investors’ focus was squarely on the recently announced Summit/Village MD acquisition deal, and the company’s transition to a healthcare services company. We came away from the meeting with increased faith in the company’s ability to execute on its care delivery strategy, which should lead to positive revisions and multiple expansion for WBA shares. The Summit transaction has generally been perceived as a positive deal by the investors, and a key theme in our meetings was Walgreens planned transition from a pharmacy-led healthcare business, to a broader consumer healthcare services company with pharmacy as a key leg in the stool. The Summit deal catapults Walgreens through VillageMD into the position as one of the largest investor owned, multi-payer primary care business in the US (UNH at No. 1), expecting to exit 2023 with more than 700 locations and generating $8B in revenue. The Summit deal likely sidelines WBA from large scale M&A near term, as the company moves into integration mode for the next 12-18 months."

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Shares of Walgreens Boosts Alliance closed at $38.49 yesterday.