Walgreens Stock Slides as Analysts Question Store-Closure Impact [Video]

Shares of pharmacy giant Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) tumbled on Tuesday after investment bank TD Cowen cut its price target on the stock to $14 from $16.

Cowen analysts said their diminished outlook on Walgreens stock hinged on reduced profit expectations for fiscal 2025. The firm trimmed its full-year forecast for the drugstore operator’s adjusted earnings per share (EPS) to $1.54 from $1.71, reflecting the financial repercussions of expected store closures.

Although the analyst team anticipates that EPS will fall even further year-over-year in fiscal 2026, Cowen believes Walgreens should return to earnings growth by fiscal 2027.

Walgreens shares fell 6.9% to close Tuesday at $9.73.

The updated estimates from TD Cowen incorporate the anticipated financial impact of Walgreens’ strategy to turn around its U.S. business, which includes the closure of roughly 1,200 underperforming stores over the next three years.

The store-closure plan, which Walgreens announced in conjunction with its fiscal fourth-quarter 2024 earnings report on Oct. 15, …