(Sept 8) Clover Health Corp plunged over 10% in early trading after soared 22% yesterday.
At first glance, owning next-generation Medicare Advantage insurer Clover Health stock might not sound like betting on the world’s most exciting company.
Yet, CLOV stock has generated plenty of buzz among the trading community in 2021. We can largely credit or blameRedditusers for this, as Clover Health apparently got caught up in the meme stock phenomenon earlier this year.
Actually, I should be more precise and say that CLOV stock was part of the second wave of meme stock mania. This took place during the summer, which is usually considered a less active time in the financial markets. But then, 2021 is truly like no other year in market history.
All that being said, I’d like to encourage investors to watch Clover Health carefully – not just for the fast-paced share-price action, but for the company’s surprising revenue growth as well.
Okay, I’ll admit it. I can’t prove or disprove that Reddit users were responsible for CLOV stock’s astonishing summer time rally.
Still, it would be difficult to explain the run-up from $8 to $28, which took place in a matter of days, without considering the possibility of a massive short squeeze.
After all, CLOV stock met the criteria for a good short squeeze candidate. These include the low share price, relatively low trading volume (prior to the squeeze) and it’s not a blue-chip stock.
A Closer Look at CLOV Stock
Unfortunately for folks who chased the stock near $28, the Clover Health share price tumbled after topping out in February.
By early September, the stock was trading at around $9. Also, it should be noted that Clover Health has trailing 12-month earnings per share of -$2.45.
That’s not a terrific historical earnings profile, I must admit. Yet, some recently released financial data should provide encouragement to Clover Health’s loyal stakeholders (on Reddit and elsewhere).
CLOV stock made its way into the financial headlines for its meme stock status. However, there are other reasons to own the stock.
For example, you might appreciate Clover Health’s mission with itsflagship software platform, the Clover Assistant. With this platform, the company seeks to provide America’s seniors with highly affordable healthcare plans. That’s commendable, but is it profitable? Let’s check the data and find out.
It might surprise you to discover that Clover Health is actually a revenue-generating juggernaut, or at least it was during 2021’s second quarter.
For that quarter, Clover Healthtook in$412 million in total revenues. That represents a whopping 140% year-over-year increase.
Clover Assistant was critical during this quarter, and according to Clover Health, that platform is on track to manage over $1 billion of annualized revenues.
A Significant Milestone
On top of all that, the lives recorded under Clover Management nearly doubled from the first quarter to the second, to approximately 129,000.
Clearly, 2021’s second quarter was tremendous for CLOV stock.
Plus, as Clover Health CEO Vivek Garipalli explained, a newly introduced method of healthcare delivery greatly enhanced his company’s profit potential.
“Clover took another step in its journey to improve every life with the launch of Direct Contracting this past quarter. This milestone more than doubled our revenue and nearly doubled lives under Clover Assistant management,” Garipalli clarified.
In June, Clover Health announced its plan to scale its in-home primary care program, Clover Home Care, through the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Direct Contracting model.
This arrangement has the potential to make Medicare more financially sustainable for the patients. In addition, it can provide substantial fiscal benefits for Clover Health.
The Bottom Line
By now, you should be convinced that there’s more to Clover Health than its meme status.
Now that CLOV stock has come back to earth, it should be viewed as a prime pick in the healthcare delivery sector.
Or, you can just own it because Reddit users might pump up the share price. At the end of the day, however, you don’t have to follow social media trends to appreciate the value of Clover Health.