Latest news with #GailBoudreaux
Business Insider
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Elevance Health CEO Boudreaux buys $2.44M of shares
Elevance Health (ELV) CEO Gail Boudreaux disclosed the purchase of 8,500 shares at an average price of $286.94 for total value of $2.44M. Boudreaux now owns 151,020 shares of Elevance. Shares of Elevance bounced off their lows but remain down 6% to $283.52 in afternoon trading. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Elevance Health Tumbles After Slashing 2025 Outlook on Medicaid Weakness
Elevance Health (ELV, Financials) shares fell nearly 12% Thursday morning after the health insurer posted weaker-than-expected Q2 earnings and issued a major downgrade to its full-year profit forecast, citing rising medical costs in its Medicaid and ACA businesses. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Sign with AMZN. While revenue grew a strong 14.3% year over year to $49.42 billion, beating expectations, adjusted earnings came in at $8.84 per share, well below Wall Street's forecast of $9.20. The big issue: medical costs. The company's benefit expense ratio jumped to 88.9%, up 260 basis points from a year ago, driven by higher claims in Medicaid and Affordable Care Act plans. That pressure outweighed improving efficiency, as the operating expense ratio fell to 10.1%, thanks to disciplined cost controls and revenue leverage. Total medical membership dropped by 212,000 from Q1, with declines in Medicaid and ACA coverage offsetting gains in Medicare Advantage. Elevance's Carelon business, which includes home health and pharmacy services, was a bright spot revenues surged 36% to $18.1 billion, helped by acquisitions and strong product performance in CarelonRx. But that wasn't enough to cushion the blow. The company slashed its full-year EPS guidance to around $30, down from its prior $34.15$34.85 range and well below the Street's $34.40 consensus. We're adjusting our outlook to reflect what we're seeing in Medicaid and ACA, said CEO Gail Boudreaux, adding that Elevance remains focused on managing healthcare costs and making targeted tech investments to support long-term value. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Medical Insurers and Pharma Firms' Stock Slipped Thursday. Here's Why.
Key Takeaways Health insurance firms were some of Thursday's worst-performing stocks in both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average. Elevance Health shares plunged after the insurer lowered its outlook because of what CEO Gail Boudreaux called an 'unprecedented cost trend." Investors appeared to lose confidence in other companies that sell health insurance, as well as pharmaceutical insurers and pharmaceutical companies' stock fell Thursday, weighed down by Elevance's downbeat outlook and other factors. Health care was the worst-performing sector in the S&P 500 Thursday, while the index—and nearly all the other sectors within it—was on track to post modest gains. UnitedHealth Group (UNH), which provides health insurance and other services, was the worst-performing stock in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Elevance Health (ELV) shares plunged 12%, making it the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500. The medical insurer lowered its outlook for a second consecutive year because of an 'unprecedented cost trend affecting multiple lines of business,' CEO Gail Boudreaux said on a conference call, according to a transcript from AlphaSense. Investors responded by selling other medical insurers' shares, with shares of Molina Healthcare (MOH) recently falling about 5%, of Centene Corp. (CNC) dropping 5% and of Cigna Group (CI) dipping 2%. UnitedHealth was down about 1%. Centene pulled its full-year guidance in early July, while UnitedHealth pulled its outlook in May. Some investors also appeared to sour on pharmaceutical companies. Shares of Abbott Laboratories (ABT), which makes medicine and nutritional products like Ensure, were recently down nearly 8%. Abbott narrowed its outlook for the year, noting declining demand for COVID-19 tests. Shares of the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly (LLY) were recently off by 3% Read the original article on Investopedia
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
5 Revealing Analyst Questions From Elevance Health's Q1 Earnings Call
Elevance Health's first quarter was characterized by notable revenue growth and a positive market reaction, driven by strong momentum across its Carelon services platform and ongoing investments in patient advocacy and digital integration. Management cited robust traction for Carelon's external payer solutions and highlighted the expansion of digital initiatives like HealthOS, which now serves over 88,000 care providers. CEO Gail Boudreaux noted, 'Our patient advocacy solutions supported over 6 million a 95% satisfaction rate, it's become a valuable differentiator.' The quarter also saw progress in integrating recent acquisitions to strengthen home-based and pharmacy services, though higher Medicaid costs and elevated utilization slightly tempered operating margins. Is now the time to buy ELV? Find out in our full research report (it's free). Revenue: $48.89 billion vs analyst estimates of $46.43 billion (14.8% year-on-year growth, 5.3% beat) Adjusted EPS: $11.97 vs analyst estimates of $11.48 (4.3% beat) Adjusted EBITDA: $4.06 billion vs analyst estimates of $3.8 billion (8.3% margin, 7% beat) Management reiterated its full-year Adjusted EPS guidance of $34.50 at the midpoint Operating Margin: 6.4%, down from 8.2% in the same quarter last year Customers: 45.83 million, up from 45.73 million in the previous quarter Market Capitalization: $85.07 billion While we enjoy listening to the management's commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls are the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention. A.J. Rice (UBS) asked about persistent cost trends in Medicare Advantage and the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act. CFO Mark Kaye explained that elevated costs were anticipated and manageable, with close monitoring of claims data and no material deviations from expectations. Lance Wilkes (Bernstein) focused on Carelon's external growth and specialty pharmacy integration. President Pete Haytaian highlighted strong internal and external demand, especially in risk-based services, and described ongoing integration of specialty pharmacy assets as deliberate and patient-centric. Stephen Baxter (Wells Fargo) inquired about lower-than-expected ACA effectuation rates and their implications for profitability. Kaye responded that lighter effectuation was due to passive Medicaid transitions and projected a single-digit percent attrition in Q2, which has been factored into guidance. Andrew Mok (Barclays) sought clarification on the benefit-expense ratio (MLR) outperformance. Kaye attributed this to a larger-than-expected Medicaid premium tax, which favorably impacted the ratio without affecting overall earnings. Lisa Gill (JPMorgan) questioned the impact of Medicare Part D changes and risk coding for new members. Kaye detailed the seasonality effects caused by the new $2,000 out-of-pocket cap and explained how these changes front-load earnings but do not alter full-year margin expectations. Looking ahead, the StockStory team will be watching (1) the ability of Carelon to sustain external payer growth and successfully integrate recent acquisitions, (2) the outcomes of ongoing Medicaid rate negotiations and their effect on segment margins, and (3) the impact of Medicare Advantage risk adjustment changes and value-based care expansion on overall profitability. Execution in digital health platforms and pharmacy services will also be closely monitored. Elevance Health currently trades at $376.53, down from $407.03 just before the earnings. At this price, is it a buy or sell? See for yourself in our full research report (it's free). The market surged in 2024 and reached record highs after Donald Trump's presidential victory in November, but questions about new economic policies are adding much uncertainty for 2025. While the crowd speculates what might happen next, we're homing in on the companies that can succeed regardless of the political or macroeconomic environment. Put yourself in the driver's seat and build a durable portfolio by checking out our Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025). Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Despite Medicaid Pressure, Elevance Health Delivers Strong Q1 Performance, Reiterates Profit Outlook
Elevance Health Inc. (NYSE:ELV) on Tuesday reported first-quarter 2025 revenues of $48.77 billion, up 15% year-over-year, higher than the consensus of $46.29 billion. The increase was driven by higher premium yields in the Health Benefits segment, acquisitions completed in the past year, Medicare Advantage and Individual ACA membership growth, and CarelonRx product revenue, partially offset by membership attrition in Medicaid business. Also Read: The benefit expense ratio was 86.4%, an increase of 80 basis points year over year, reflecting a higher Medicaid medical cost trend, partially offset by out-of-period premium taxes. Reuters noted that the analysts' average estimate was 86.8%. '...In the first quarter, we made measurable progress reimagining the healthcare experience with personalized support, real-time digital solutions, and a whole-health model that improves outcomes and reduces cost...' said Gail Boudreaux, President and Chief Executive Officer Last week, CVS Health Corp (NYSE:CVS), Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM), and Elevance Health stocks fell as investors were spooked after UnitedHealth Group, Inc.'s (NYSE:UNH) disappointing Q1 earnings and slashed 2025 guidance. The operating expense ratio was 10.9%, improving 70 basis points from the prior year. The adjusted operating expense ratio was 10.7%, an improvement of 60 basis points, primarily driven by expense leverage associated with growth in operating revenue and ongoing cost management, partially offset by out of period premium tax expense during the quarter. Premiums rose 14.5% to $40.89 billion, product revenue rose 29.1% to $5.81 billion, and services fees fell marginally to $2.07 billion. Adjusted earnings per share reached $11.97, up 10.8%, beating the consensus of $11.38. The operating revenue of the health benefits segment was $41.4 billion in the first quarter of 2025, an 11% increase driven primarily by higher premium yields and growth in our Medicare Advantage and Individual ACA plan membership. Medical membership totaled approximately 45.8 million as of March 31, 2025, an increase of 99 thousand from year-end 2024, driven by growth in Medicare Advantage and Commercial risk-based member, partially offset by a decline in Commercial fee-based membership from a known customer transition. Operating revenue for Carelon was $16.7 billion, up 38%, driven by recent acquisitions in home health and pharmacy services, growth in CarelonRx product revenue, and the scaling of innovative risk-based capabilities in Carelon Services. Guidance: Elevance Health reaffirms the 2025 adjusted EPS outlook of $34.15-$34.85 versus consensus of $34.22. Price Action: ELV stock is up 1.87% at $414.31 at the last check on Tuesday. Read Next:Photo via Shutterstock UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? This article Despite Medicaid Pressure, Elevance Health Delivers Strong Q1 Performance, Reiterates Profit Outlook originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Sign in to access your portfolio
