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Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) stock is advancing nearly 12% after CNBC reported that the troubled pharmacy chain could still be acquired.
WBA May Be Bought After All
After reporting on Jan 27 that a possible acquisition of WBA by private equity firm Sycamore Partners was "mostly dead," CNBC anchor David Faber said today that "I am hearing there are still potentially signs of life." He added that the potential takeover was now "alive."
A pharmacist discussing the health benefits of a prescription medication with a customer.
Bloomberg noted at the end of January that Sycamore was in talks about obtaining financing for the possible acquisition.
More Information About WBA
Amid increased competition for pharmacy customers from online companies and discount retailers, along with lower reimbursement rates for drugs, analysts on average expect the company's earnings per share to sink to $1.61 in 2025 from $2.88 in 2024. The mean estimate calls for the firm's EPS to fall further to $1.47 in 2026.
Additionally, partly because of legal settlements that WBA made related to its role in the opioid crisis, the company had $31.7 billion of debt as of the end of its last reported quarter, versus only $1.19 billion of cash.
The retailer intends to close 500 stores during its current fiscal year which began in September.
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READ ALSO 8 Best Wide Moat Stocks to Buy Now and 30 Most Important AI Stocks According to BlackRock
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.