In a report released yesterday, Richard Close from Canaccord Genuity reiterated a Buy rating on Cerner Corp (NASDAQ: CERN), with a price target of $64. The company’s shares opened today at $63.
Close observed:
“We reiterate our BUY rating and $64 PT. The announcement of the VA contract removes a significant overhang that has dogged the stock in 2018 and in part led to downward guidance revisions. Given the controversy with VA leadership and recent articles regarding the IT program, we expect that there will be questions and a media response to this announcement. As such, shares may not get the full positive impact deserved and could provide a buying opportunity. Finalizing the contract between the VA and Cerner (as the prime contractor) provides us with greater confidence that the company’s annual targets for 2018 are achievable. Exiting 1Q’18, we expressed concern that if the contract encountered further delays, additional downward revisions were a risk. Size of contract detailed.”
According to TipRanks.com, Close is a 5-star analyst with an average return of 11.8% and a 58.6% success rate. Close covers the Services sector, focusing on stocks such as Envision Healthcare, Hms Holdings Corp, and Evolent Health.
Currently, the analyst consensus on Cerner Corp is Moderate Buy and the average price target is $68.18, representing an 8.2% upside.
In a report issued on May 3, Piper Jaffray also maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a $64 price target.
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Cerner Corp’s market cap is currently $20.11B and has a P/E ratio of 23.96. The company has a Price to Book ratio of 4.10.
Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 43 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is neutral on the stock.
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Cerner Corp. designs, develops, markets, installs, hosts and supports health care information technology, health care devices, hardware and content solutions for health care organizations and consumers. The company also provides value-added services, including implementation and training, remote hosting, operational management services, revenue cycle services, support and maintenance, health care data analysis, clinical process optimization, transaction processing, employer health centers, employee wellness programs and third party administrator services for employer-based health plans. It operates through the following segments: Domestic and Global. The Domestic segment includes revenue contributions and expenditures associated with business activity in the United States. The Global segment includes revenue contributions and expenditures linked to business activity in Aruba, Australia, Austria, the Bahamas, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Denmark, Egypt, England, Finland, France, Germany, Guam, India, Ireland, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates. The company was founded by Neal L. Patterson, Clifford W. Illig and Paul N. Gorup in 1979 and is headquartered in North Kansas City, MO.
