Herbalife Ltd. provides health and wellness products in North America, Mexico, South and Central America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, China, and the Asia Pacific. It offers products in the areas of weight management; targeted nutrition; energy, sports, and fitness; outer nutrition; and literature and promotional items. The company also provides weight management products, including meal replacement products, protein shakes, drink mixes, weight loss supplements, healthy snacks, and metabolism boosting teas; targeted nutrition products, which comprise functional beverages, and dietary and nutritional supplements that contain herbs, vitamins, minerals, and other natural ingredients; outer nutrition products, such as facial skin, body, and hair care products; and energy, sports, and fitness products, including N-R-G tea and energy drink products. In addition, it offers literature, promotional, and other materials that comprise start-up kits, sales tools, and educational materials. The company sells its products through sales representatives, independent service providers, and company-operated retail platforms. Herbalife Ltd. was formerly known as Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. and changed its name to Herbalife Ltd. in April 2023. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

Herbalife Ltd.

Looking at options trading activity among components of the Russell 3000 index, there is noteworthy activity today in AST SpaceMobile Inc (Symbol: ASTS), where a total volume of 81,604 contracts has been traded thus far today, a contract volume which is representative of approximately 8.2 million underlying shares (given that every 1 contract represents 100 underlying shares). That number works out to 53% of ASTS's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 15.4 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $80 strike call option expiring January 02, 2026, with 5,184 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 518,400 underlying shares of ASTS. Below is a chart showing ASTS's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $80 strike highlighted in orange:
Herbalife Ltd (Symbol: HLF) options are showing a volume of 10,917 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 1.1 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 50.8% of HLF's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 2.2 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $12.50 strike put option expiring December 18, 2026, with 4,074 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 407,400 underlying shares of HLF. Below is a chart showing HLF's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $12.50 strike highlighted in orange:
And Starbucks Corp. (Symbol: SBUX) saw options trading volume of 46,073 contracts, representing approximately 4.6 million underlying shares or approximately 49.7% of SBUX's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 9.3 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $100 strike put option expiring January 16, 2026, with 10,897 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 1.1 million underlying shares of SBUX. Below is a chart showing SBUX's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $100 strike highlighted in orange:
For the various different available expirations for ASTS options, HLF options, or SBUX options, visit StockOptionsChannel.com.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Noteworthy Tuesday Option Activity: ASTS, HLF, SBUX

Among the underlying components of the Russell 3000 index, we saw noteworthy options trading volume today in Herbalife Ltd (Symbol: HLF), where a total of 16,258 contracts have traded so far, representing approximately 1.6 million underlying shares. That amounts to about 91.5% of HLF's average daily trading volume over the past month of 1.8 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $10.50 strike call option expiring November 28, 2025, with 5,611 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 561,100 underlying shares of HLF. Below is a chart showing HLF's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $10.50 strike highlighted in orange:
Stoke Therapeutics Inc (Symbol: STOK) saw options trading volume of 10,030 contracts, representing approximately 1.0 million underlying shares or approximately 90% of STOK's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 1.1 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $25 strike call option expiring November 21, 2025, with 5,003 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 500,300 underlying shares of STOK. Below is a chart showing STOK's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $25 strike highlighted in orange:
And Circle Internet Group Inc Class A (Symbol: CRCL) options are showing a volume of 146,016 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 14.6 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 85.8% of CRCL's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 17.0 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $80 strike call option expiring November 28, 2025, with 8,656 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 865,600 underlying shares of CRCL. Below is a chart showing CRCL's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $80 strike highlighted in orange:
For the various different available expirations for HLF options, STOK options, or CRCL options, visit StockOptionsChannel.com.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Noteworthy Friday Option Activity: HLF, STOK, CRCL

Among the underlying components of the Russell 3000 index, we saw noteworthy options trading volume today in Citigroup Inc (Symbol: C), where a total of 149,019 contracts have traded so far, representing approximately 14.9 million underlying shares. That amounts to about 109.8% of C's average daily trading volume over the past month of 13.6 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $45 strike call option expiring January 16, 2026, with 36,180 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 3.6 million underlying shares of C. Below is a chart showing C's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $45 strike highlighted in orange:
Herbalife Ltd (Symbol: HLF) options are showing a volume of 13,297 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 1.3 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 108.2% of HLF's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 1.2 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $10 strike call option expiring February 20, 2026, with 11,596 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 1.2 million underlying shares of HLF. Below is a chart showing HLF's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $10 strike highlighted in orange:
And Broadcom Inc (Symbol: AVGO) saw options trading volume of 219,188 contracts, representing approximately 21.9 million underlying shares or approximately 103.6% of AVGO's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 21.1 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $360 strike call option expiring October 31, 2025, with 26,175 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 2.6 million underlying shares of AVGO. Below is a chart showing AVGO's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $360 strike highlighted in orange:
For the various different available expirations for C options, HLF options, or AVGO options, visit StockOptionsChannel.com.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Noteworthy Friday Option Activity: C, HLF, AVGO

CVS Health Corporation CVS is scheduled to report second-quarter 2025 results on July 31, before the opening bell.
In the last reported quarter, the company’s adjusted earnings of $2.25 exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 31.58%. CVS Health beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average earnings surprise being 18.08%.
CVS Health Corporation Price and EPS Surprise
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter revenues is pegged at $93.72 billion, suggesting growth of 2.7% year over year. The consensus estimate for second-quarter earnings is $1.47 per share, implying a 19.67% decline on a year-over-year basis.
Q2 Estimates for CVS Down 11 Cents in 3 Months
Earnings estimates for CVS Health have dropped from $1.58 per share to $1.47 for the second quarter over the past 90 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Estimates have been southbound for this drugstore chain and pharmacy benefits manager over the past three months, influenced by a combination of operational cost pressures, legal headwinds, regulatory challenges and adverse policy developments. Elevated medical costs, particularly in Medicare Advantage, continue to put pressure on CVS Health’s margins, while one-time charges, including $387 million related to the Omnicare verdict, $247 million in ACO asset losses and a $448 million ACA-related reserve further weighed on performance. Additionally, CVS plans to close over 20 pharmacies in Arkansas following the passage of HB1150, a new law banning PBMs from owning pharmacies, intensifying regulatory scrutiny.
These closures, combined with broader PBM pressures and CVS Health’s planned 2026 exit from ACA exchanges, might have contributed to analysts revising Q2 earnings estimates downward despite the company raising its full-year outlook.
3 Factors to Focus on Ahead of CVS' Q2 Earnings
Aetna Recovery in Focus Amid Benefit Redesigns and Strategic Pricing: Aetna’s underperformance in 2024 was a key concern, driven by elevated utilization and margin pressure. However, CVS Health has positioned 2025 as a turnaround year for its Healthcare Benefits segment. CVS expects margin recovery in its Healthcare Benefits segment, driven by Medicare benefit redesigns, Medicaid rate adjustments and pricing changes in the ACA market. While membership held steady at about 27.1 million, the shift toward more profitable bronze plans and tighter enrollment control likely improved profitability. A slowdown in inpatient cost growth also points to better medical cost management. These efforts are likely to have supported second-quarter revenues.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CVS’ Health Care Benefits arm revenues is pegged at $34.6 billion for the second quarter of 2025.
PBM Strength and Drug Cost Management: Ahead of CVS Health’s second-quarter results, its pharmacy benefit manager, Caremark, is expected to have played a critical role in mitigating the impact of rising branded drug costs despite intensifying regulatory scrutiny. CVS continues to highlight the value of PBMs, noting nearly $1 billion in savings from biosimilar conversions. Its CostVantage and TrueCost models, now covering over 75% of Caremark’s commercial members, aim to boost pricing transparency and lower costs by tying reimbursements to drug prices and passing rebates directly to patients. These initiatives likely contributed to Caremark’s performance during the second quarter.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CVS’s Health Services segment revenues stands at $43.52 billion for the second quarter of 2025.
Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness: In the to-be-reported quarter, CVS Health’s Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness segment is expected to have benefited from increased prescription volumes and a favorable pharmacy drug mix, helping offset continued reimbursement pressure and soft front store traffic. While the challenging consumer environment and recent generic launches may have weighed on profitability, CVS likely saw support from its completed three-year store closure initiative and progress in footprint optimization, both aimed at boosting efficiency. Additionally, same-store sales and prescription volumes are likely to have remained positive year over year, supporting top-line growth.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness segment is pegged at $32.16 billion for the second quarter of 2025.
CVS Shares Outperform S&P and Peers
During the second quarter of 2025 (ending June 30, 2025), shares of CVS Health gained 2.5%. The stock has underperformed the S&P 500’s 10.7% rise. The company's peers like Herbalife HLF and UnitedHealth Group UNH registered a respective decline of 2.2% and 40% in their stock prices during this period.
Q2 Price Comparison of CVS
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Valuation
From a valuation standpoint, CVS Health’s forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) is 9.24X. This is a significant premium to Herbalife, with its current P/E being 4.51X. But it remains undervalued compared to UnitedHealth, whose current P/E is 12.27X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Final Thoughts on CVS
With solid fundamentals, ongoing turnaround efforts and a strong history of beating earnings estimates, CVS Health, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), looks like a smart pick ahead of its second-quarter results. While near-term pressures like high medical costs and regulatory hurdles remain, the company’s actions such as redesigning Aetna benefits, optimizing its retail footprint and improving drug pricing transparency through new PBM models, are starting to pay off. These moves could support long-term growth.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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CVS Q2 Estimates Dip: Is the Stock Still a Buy Ahead of Q2 Earnings?

Among the underlying components of the Russell 3000 index, we saw noteworthy options trading volume today in Herbalife Ltd (Symbol: HLF), where a total of 10,558 contracts have traded so far, representing approximately 1.1 million underlying shares. That amounts to about 45% of HLF's average daily trading volume over the past month of 2.3 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $2.50 strike put option expiring December 17, 2027, with 8,025 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 802,500 underlying shares of HLF. Below is a chart showing HLF's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $2.50 strike highlighted in orange:
IES Holdings Inc (Symbol: IESC) saw options trading volume of 762 contracts, representing approximately 76,200 underlying shares or approximately 44.8% of IESC's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 169,910 shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $200 strike put option expiring October 17, 2025, with 384 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 38,400 underlying shares of IESC. Below is a chart showing IESC's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $200 strike highlighted in orange:
And PepsiCo Inc (Symbol: PEP) options are showing a volume of 33,756 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 3.4 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 44% of PEP's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 7.7 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $170 strike call option expiring June 20, 2025, with 2,505 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 250,500 underlying shares of PEP. Below is a chart showing PEP's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $170 strike highlighted in orange:
For the various different available expirations for HLF options, IESC options, or PEP options, visit StockOptionsChannel.com.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Notable Tuesday Option Activity: HLF, IESC, PEP

Among the underlying components of the Russell 3000 index, we saw noteworthy options trading volume today in Upstart Holdings Inc (Symbol: UPST), where a total of 26,741 contracts have traded so far, representing approximately 2.7 million underlying shares. That amounts to about 41.6% of UPST's average daily trading volume over the past month of 6.4 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $51 strike call option expiring May 09, 2025, with 2,035 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 203,500 underlying shares of UPST. Below is a chart showing UPST's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $51 strike highlighted in orange:
Herbalife Ltd (Symbol: HLF) options are showing a volume of 7,639 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 763,900 underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 40.9% of HLF's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 1.9 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $7.50 strike call option expiring May 16, 2025, with 6,401 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 640,100 underlying shares of HLF. Below is a chart showing HLF's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $7.50 strike highlighted in orange:
And Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (Symbol: TTWO) saw options trading volume of 8,124 contracts, representing approximately 812,400 underlying shares or approximately 40.9% of TTWO's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 2.0 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $225 strike call option expiring May 02, 2025, with 1,915 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 191,500 underlying shares of TTWO. Below is a chart showing TTWO's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $225 strike highlighted in orange:
For the various different available expirations for UPST options, HLF options, or TTWO options, visit StockOptionsChannel.com.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Notable Thursday Option Activity: UPST, HLF, TTWO

CVS Health Corporation CVS is scheduled to report first-quarter 2025 results on May 1, before the opening bell.
In the last reported quarter, the company’s adjusted earnings of $1.19 exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 33.7%. CVS Health beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed in one, the average earnings surprise being 4.57%. (Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar).
CVS Health Corporation Price and EPS Surprise
CVS Health Corporation price-eps-surprise | CVS Health Corporation Quote
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter revenues is pegged at $92.95 billion, suggesting growth of 5.1% year over year. The consensus estimate for first-quarter earnings is $1.65 per share, implying a 25.9% improvement on a year-over-year basis.
Q1 Estimates for CVS Up 21 Cents in 3 Months
Earnings estimates for CVS Health have risen from $1.44 per share to $1.65 for the first quarter over the past 90 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Estimates have been northbound for this drugstore chain and pharmacy benefits manager over the past three months, mostly influenced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) announcement of an over 5% increase in Medicare Advantage payments, significantly above the 2.83% increase expected earlier in January. The market is also upbeat about CVS Health’s CEO transition in late 2024. David Joyner, the new CEO, is currently putting in efforts to stabilize Aetna’s operations and bring financial discipline back to the organization.
3 Factors to Focus on Ahead of CVS' Q1 Earnings
A Turnaround at Aetna Expected: Aetna’s underperformance in 2024 was concerning. However, CVS expected benefit redesigns and improved rate negotiations to lead to margin recovery starting from 2025. While utilization trends remained elevated in the fourth quarter of 2024, data showed moderation in inpatient costs, a positive sign for medical cost control.
Overall, CVS Health’s Healthcare Benefits segment is expected to report better results following a challenging fourth quarter marked by elevated medical cost trends and an adjusted operating loss. Although medical membership remained relatively flat at approximately 27.1 million, strategic actions taken across lines of business, such as benefit design changes in Medicare, rate alignment progress in Medicaid and pricing adjustments in the individual exchange market are expected to have positively impacted first-quarter performance. Meanwhile, a deliberate shift in the individual exchange mix toward bronze plans and rationalized membership should have enhanced profitability in this segment.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CVS’ Health Care Benefits arm revenues is pegged at $33.66 billion for the first quarter of 2025.
PBM Strength and Drug Cost Management: Caremark, CVS Health’s pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) business, is expected to have continued to play a vital role in offsetting the rising cost of branded drugs during the first quarter, Despite ongoing regulatory scrutiny. CVS earlier highlighted how PBMs negotiate significant savings, pointing to examples like biosimilar conversions that saved clients nearly $1 billion.
In Biosimilar, CVS Health's CostVantage and TrueCost models are being positioned as industry-first solutions to pharmacy pricing opacity. These models now represent over 75% of Caremark’s commercial members. These might have successfully driven affordability in the first quarter by aligning reimbursements with acquisition costs and making rebates visible at the counter.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Health Services arm’s revenues is pegged at $43.36 billion for the first quarter of 2025.
Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness: In the to-be-reported quarter, despite the challenging consumer backdrop, the segment’s performance is expected to have been driven by increased prescription volume and pharmacy drug mix amid continued pharmacy reimbursement pressure and lower front store volumes. Both same-store sales and same-store prescription volumes are expected to have increased year over year in the first quarter of 2024, benefiting CVS’ top line.
However, continued pharmacy reimbursement pressure, the impact of recent generic introductions and lower front store volumes might have dented growth in the first quarter. The company is likely to have benefited from its recently completed three-year store closure initiative and its progress with the ongoing footprint optimization in the first quarter of 2025.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness segment is pegged at $31.19 billion for the first quarter of 2025.
CVS Shares Outperform S&P and Peers
During the first quarter of 2025 (ending March 31, 2025), shares of CVS Health rallied 52.8%. The stock has outperformed the S&P 500’s 4.8% dip. The company's direct peers like Herbalife HLF and Walgreens Boots Alliance WBA registered a respective rise of 29% and 19.7% in their stock prices during this period.
Q1 Price Comparison of CVS
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Expensive Valuation
From a valuation standpoint, CVS Health’s forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) is 10.56X. This is a significant premium to Walgreens Boots, with its current P/E being 7.17, and Herbalife, whose current P/E is 3.41X. This suggests that investors may be paying a higher price relative to the company's expected earnings growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Final Thoughts on CVS
CVS Health’s healthcare benefits segment is expected to have demonstrated sequentially better performance in 2025, banking on a disciplined, profitability-focused strategy that prioritizes sustainable margin recovery despite membership growth. On the pharmacy and care delivery front, CVS is expected to have gained from streamlined operations to unlock value, while capitalizing on growing demand in retail pharmacy and prescription volume growth.
However, the entire retail pharmacy industry is currently grappling with continued pressure from non-reimbursable pharmacy expenses, which is pulling down mass demand for prescription as well as over-the-counter drugs and vaccinations. The company, along with its peers like Walgreens Boots and Herbalife, has been severely affected by this ongoing crisis. To tackle this issue, CVS Health has launched its store closure initiative, which has been denting the company’s revenues.
Moreover, the current stretched valuation suggests that investors may be paying a higher price relative to the company's expected earnings growth. Accordingly, this might not be the ideal time to invest in this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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CVS Soars 53% in Q1: Time to Buy the Stock Ahead of Earnings Release?

In a year marked by macroeconomic uncertainty and renewed trade tensions that have shaken the equity market, CVS Health CVS has emerged as an unexpected outperformer. After a rough 2024, marked by high utilization at its Aetna insurance unit as well as reimbursement pressure, CVS Health has experienced a dramatic recovery so far in 2025. The stock has become the S&P 500’s top performer, with a year-to-date return exceeding 41%, thereby outperforming all other index members by a significant margin.
This PBM and pharmacy retail powerhouse has also outperformed its major competitors — Herbalife Ltd. HLF and Walgreens Boots WBA, which registered growth of 23.6% and 14.6%, respectively, during this period.
CVS YTD Price Comparison
CVS a Safe Choice Amid Macroeconomic Threats
Many market watchers believe that CVS Health’s attractiveness lies in the nature of its business, which has a simultaneous presence in two of the most stable sectors—healthcare and retail. The company operates a diversified business model. It provides a comprehensive portfolio of traditional, voluntary, and consumer-directed health insurance products and services, along with a full suite of pharmacy benefit management (PBM) solutions. Simultaneously, its Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness segment encompasses retail and long-term care pharmacy operations, related pharmacy services and its front-of-store retail business.
The company’s strong track record of stable cash generation has aided it amid the broader market sell-offs impacted by escalating 2025 Trump tariffs. With little reliance on global supply chains and strong revenues generated from essential services, CVS Health offers investors a safer option against inflation and geopolitical risks.
The market is also upbeat about CVS Health’s CEO transition in late 2024. David Joyner, as the new CEO, is currently putting in efforts to stabilize Aetna’s operations and also to bring financial discipline back to the organization.
The market is also upbeat about CVS Health’s recent biosimilar launch with Cordavis. Through the coordinated efforts of Cordavis, Caremark and CVS Specialty, CVS Health has successfully converted more than 90% of eligible Humira patients to a biosimilar priced over 80% below the branded alternative. This aggressive cost-cutting initiative not only enabled zero-dollar out-of-pocket expenses for individual members but also generated nearly $1 billion in client savings —making CVS the only company to drive meaningful biosimilar adoption at scale.
2025 Roadmap Looks Impressive
CVS Health is optimistic regarding its path forward in 2025 and beyond, which involves strengthening its positioning in Medicare Advantage. Management is confident about 2025 pricing, which is based on prudent assumptions for utilization trends. It expects these actions to drive a 100- to 200-basis point margin recovery in 2025 compared to its current baseline performance. This will be the first stage in a three to four-year journey to re-establish the company's target margins of 4 to 5%.
Improved Star Ratings in 2025 might generate a $700 million tailwind, depending on membership retention levels. The rest of the gains in the company’s 2025 margin will be driven by pricing initiatives in an environment where it is experiencing headwinds from an insufficient rate notice and prescription medication coverage changes that raise plan liability significantly. CVS Health will implement material price and benefit design adjustments in 2025, with the impact determined by how cost trends evolve in both 2024 and 2025, as well as how the market responds to those trends.
Furthermore, Signify Health continues to show impressive growth and is building momentum into 2025. CVS Health is progressing with its innovative pharmacy models and biosimilar strategy and is also advancing the integration of healthcare delivery assets. Overall, the company is taking steps to achieve profitable growth in 2025, focusing on a disciplined financial policy to strengthen its balance sheet.
CVS Shares Trading at a Discount
In terms of valuation, CVS Health’s forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) is 10.35X, a discount to the S&P 500’s 18.56X.
However, the stock is trading at a premium to the company’s competitors — Walgreens Boots Alliance’s average of 7.01X and Herbalife’s 4.40X. This suggests that investors may be paying a higher price relative to the company's expected earnings growth.
Higher Utilization Trend Weighs on CVS Stock
Within its Health Care Benefits segment, CVS Health’s Aetna unit continues to face headwinds from both macroeconomic and internal challenges. In 2024, the Medicare Advantage industry saw elevated service utilization and higher acuity, largely driven by Medicaid redeterminations.
Aetna’s below-target 2024 Star Ratings created a temporary reimbursement shortfall, as CVS underestimated medical costs when pricing Medicare Advantage plans. This, combined with generous benefit offerings, intensified cost pressure despite rapid membership growth.
2026 Rate Update Concerns
CVS Health has expressed concerns that in the proposed 2026 Medicare Advantage advanced rate notice (released in January 2025), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services did not address the unprecedented utilization trend experienced across the industry over the past two years. The company is advocating for a more appropriate rate update, including adjustments for the industry-wide cost trends seen in 2024.
Target Price Reflects Limited Upside
Based on short-term price targets offered by 22 analysts, CVS Health is currently trading just 7.1% below its average Zacks price target.
Final Take
CVS Health started 2025 on a bright note, backed by strong investor confidence and continued momentum in its Pharmacy and Consumer Wellness segment. The company’s strategic initiatives, including footprint optimization and the introduction of biosimilars, further reinforce its long-term growth trajectory.
However, the increasing utilization trend is weighing on the Medicare Advantage business, leading to a high medical-benefit ratio. Further, the proposed 2026 Medicare Advantage advanced rate seems to be unfavorable for the company’s business. The current stock price remains close to the target, which implies that the room for gains is limited. Accordingly, this might not be the ideal time to invest in this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

CVS Health Takes the Lead in 2025 S&P 500 Chart: Is It a Buy Now?

Among the underlying components of the Russell 3000 index, we saw noteworthy options trading volume today in Procter & Gamble Company (Symbol: PG), where a total of 45,074 contracts have traded so far, representing approximately 4.5 million underlying shares. That amounts to about 52.7% of PG's average daily trading volume over the past month of 8.5 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $175 strike call option expiring April 04, 2025, with 19,316 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 1.9 million underlying shares of PG. Below is a chart showing PG's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $175 strike highlighted in orange:
Herbalife Ltd (Symbol: HLF) options are showing a volume of 10,287 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 1.0 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 52.4% of HLF's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 2.0 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $15 strike call option expiring January 15, 2027, with 10,000 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 1.0 million underlying shares of HLF. Below is a chart showing HLF's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $15 strike highlighted in orange:
And Wayfair Inc (Symbol: W) options are showing a volume of 25,467 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 2.5 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 51.8% of W's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 4.9 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $28 strike put option expiring April 04, 2025, with 6,368 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 636,800 underlying shares of W. Below is a chart showing W's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $28 strike highlighted in orange:
For the various different available expirations for PG options, HLF options, or W options, visit StockOptionsChannel.com.
Today's Most Active Call & Put Options of the S&P 500 »
Also see:
Dividend History
QTI market cap history
Top Ten Hedge Funds Holding PNOV
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