MW CVS's stock seeing worst month in decades as drug seller gets criticism from both parties
By Tomi Kilgore
Roles of drug 'middlemen' are taking punches from the right by Donald Trump and from the left by Elizabeth Warren
Shares of CVS Health Corp. have taken a beating over the past month, and were headed for another 12-year closing low on Tuesday, as recent comments from Donald Trump showed the drug seller may not have anyone in its corner.
In addition to CVS's stock $(CVS)$, those of others in the pharmacy-benefit-manager business have also suffered historically bad Decembers, including those of UnitedHealth Group Inc. $(UNH)$ and Cigna Group $(CI)$, as the recent tragedy involving the UnitedHealth executive has also brought the discussion of reform to the public forum.
At a Monday news conference, the president-elect took a swipe at pharmacy-benefit managers, calling them "horrible" middlemen.
Trump said PBMs were the reason Americans were paying "far too much" for prescription drugs, much more than in other countries. And he vowed to "knock out the middleman."
His comments followed bipartisan legislation put forth last week by Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren and Missouri Republican Josh Hawley, which would force companies that own health insurers or PBMs to divest their pharmacy businesses. In September, the Federal Trade Commission sued the PBMs owned by CVS, UnitedHealth and Cigna, alleging they artificially raised prices on insulin drugs.
CVS is a PBM through its CVS Caremark business. The company's pharmacy and consumer-wellness segment represented 34% of total revenue of $95.4 billion in the latest quarter.
And UnitedHealth's Optum and Cigna's Express Scripts are PBMs.
CVS's stock $(CVS.AU)$ sank 2.9% in morning trading Tuesday, putting it on track for the lowest close since November 2012.
With a 24.4% tumble so far in December, the stock was headed for the biggest monthly loss since it dropped 28% in October 2001. It has also plummeted 19.3% amid a six-day losing streak, which would be the worst six-day stretch since it lost 25% during the six days ending Nov. 6, 2001.
Besides the assault on the PBM business, Mizuho analyst Ann Hynes said Tuesday that discussions with a leading broker for Medicare Advantage plans indicated that CVS was among the insurers that lost the most market share during the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period, which ended on Dec. 7.
Hynes said the problem appeared to be that CVS "over-diversified" its Medicare Advantage plan selection and over-extended its benefits.
UnitedHealth's stock has also had a pretty bad month. Chief Executive Andrew Witty acknowledged last week, in the wake of the killing of Brian Thompson, who led the company's UnitedHealthcare business, that the U.S. healthcare system needed fixing, although he focused more on the insurance-coverage side.
UnitedHealth's stock dropped 3.9% toward an eight-month low on Friday, and has fallen 21.5% in December. It was headed for its worst month since plunging 30.6% in February 2009.
Meanwhile, Hynes believes UnitedHealth had a good annual enrollment period, with membership growing at a higher rate than its peers.
And Cigna's stock was losing 2.9% toward a one-year low, and has dropped 21.5% this month. It was headed for its worst month since the 25.7% tumble in November 2008.
Back to CVS's stock, Morgan Stanley analyst Erin Wright cautioned investors not to jump on the "sell" bandwagon.
Although the political headwinds will continue to add risk and uncertainty for the stock, she noted that "other regulatory attempts at PBM reform have "prior iterations of proposed PBM reform have stalled," and it's unclear what will play out in a changing administration.
"Also, some element of reform could be manageable for the PBMs, given the inherent evolution of the PBM business that has already transformed over the years," Wright wrote in a recent note to clients.
Wright reiterated the overweight rating she's had on CVS's stock for at least the past three years. She kept her stock price target at $63, which implies about 39% upside from current levels.
-Tomi Kilgore
This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 17, 2024 11:40 ET (16:40 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments