A shift in the top brass at
Walgreens
has one analyst team thinking it has implications for
Amazon.
Earlier this week,
Walgreens Boots Alliance
(ticker: WBA) appointed industry veteran Tim Wentworth as chief executive officer. On Thursday, the company reported lower-than-expected earnings for its most recent quarter.
So what does that leadership news have to do with the tech giant? Potentially a lot.
DA Davidson analysts led by Tom Forte, who rate
Amazon
(AMZN) shares at Buy with a price target of $150, are keeping an eye on Walgreens and
CVS
(CVS), they wrote in a Thursday report, because the two companies could stand in the way of Amazon gaining market share in healthcare. Walgreens is particularly strong in the pharmacy category, with physical locations across the globe, which offers “a strong competitive advantage,” analysts continued.
That being said, Davidson is “bullish on the long-term potential for Amazon to exploit the healthcare market opportunity.” They believe there’s a greater than 10% chance the online giant can snap up an incremental 100 basis points of revenue growth in 2026 from healthcare — best achievable through a trio of factors including initiatives in pharmacy, AWS working with companies in healthcare, and making strides in primary care.
Amazon shares were edging 0.5% higher to $132.44 in premarket trading, while Walgreens stock rose 1.3% to $22.90.
Write to Emily Dattilo at emily.dattilo@dowjones.com
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