Walgreens (WBA, $39.78) CEO Pessina to step down and become exec chairman

Pharmacy store chain Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.  announced that Stefano Pessina will step down from his role as CEO after five years at the company. He will become executive chairman instead.

“I want to thank our team members around the world for their extensive achievements in the last five years, as we have fulfilled our purpose to help people lead healthier and happier lives,” said Pessina. “I look forward to continuing to serve the company as executive chairman, and to helping to ensure the success of the new chief executive officer in every way possible."

The current executive chairman, Jim Skinner, will remain on the board after Pessina takes over.

A couple of weeks ago, Walgreens reported a quarterly loss of -$1.7 billion.

According to Tickeron, WBA is in Uptrend: price may ascend as a result of having broken its lower Bollinger Band on July 09, 2020

This price move signals that WBA may jump back above the lower band and head toward the middle band. Traders may consider buying the ticker or exploring call options. In 34 of 48 cases where WBA's price broke its lower Bollinger Band, its price rose further in the following month. The odds of a continued Uptrend are 71%.

Current price $39.79 crossed the support line at $41.19 and is trading between $41.19 support and $39.75 support lines. Throughout the month of 06/23/20 - 07/24/20, the price experienced a -5% Downtrend. During the week of 07/17/20 - 07/24/20, the stock fell -2%.

Technical Analysis (Indicators)

Bullish Trend Analysis

The Stochastic Indicator suggests the ticker price trend may be in a reversal from a Downtrend to an Uptrend. 39 of 59 cases where WBA's Stochastic Indicator exited the oversold zone resulted in an increase in price. Tickeron's analysis proposes that the odds of a continued Uptrend are 66%.

The Momentum Indicator exceeded the 0 level on July 23, 2020. Traders may consider buying the ticker or exploring call options. In 43 of 86 cases where the ticker's Momentum Indicator exceeded 0, its price rose further within the subsequent month. The odds of a continued Uptrend are 50%.

Bearish Trend Analysis

The price moved below its 50-day Moving Average, which indicates a reversal from an Uptrend to a Downtrend. In 22 of 44 cases where WBA's price crossed below its 50-day Moving Average, its price fell further within the subsequent month. The odds of a continued Downtrend are 50%.

The 10-day Moving Average for this ticker crossed below its 50-day Moving Average on July 07, 2020. This can be construed as a sell signal, indicating that the trend is shifting lower. In 11 of 17 cases where WBA's 10-day Moving Average crossed below its 50-day Moving Average, its price fell further within the subsequent month. The odds of a continued Downtrend are 65%.

The Aroon Indicator entered a Downtrend today. In 87 of 191 cases where WBA Aroon's Indicator entered a Downtrend, the price fell further within the following month. The odds of a continued Downtrend are 46%.

Fundamental Analysis (Ratings)

Tickeron has a negative outlook on this ticker and predicts a further decline by more than 4.00% within the next month with a likelihood of 63%. During the last month, the daily ratio of advancing to declining volumes was 1.09 to 1.

The Tickeron PE Growth Rating for this company is 3 (best 1 - 100 worst), pointing to outstanding earnings growth. The PE Growth rating is based on a comparative analysis of stock PE ratio increase over the last 12 months compared against S&P 500 index constituents.

The Tickeron Valuation Rating of 17 (best 1 - 100 worst) indicates that the company is slightly undervalued in the industry. This rating compares market capitalization estimated by our proprietary formula with the current market capitalization. This rating is based on the following metrics, as compared to industry averages: P/B Ratio (1.52) is normal, around the industry mean (2.71). P/E Ratio (49.68) is within average values for comparable stocks, (41.92). Projected Growth (PEG Ratio) (0.51) is also within normal values, averaging (0.57). Dividend Yield (3.47) settles around the average of (1.98) among similar stocks. P/S Ratio (0.27) is also within normal values, averaging (0.71).

The Tickeron SMR rating for this company is 24 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating very strong sales and a profitable business model. SMR (Sales, Margin, Return on Equity) rating is based on comparative analysis of weighted Sales, Income Margin and Return on Equity values compared against S&P 500 index constituents. The weighted SMR value is a proprietary formula developed by Tickeron and represents an overall profitability measure for a stock.

The Tickeron Price Growth Rating for this company is 60 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating fairly steady price growth. WBA’s price grows at a lower rate over the last 12 months as compared to S&P 500 index constituents.

The Tickeron Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for this company is 100 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating that the returns do not compensate for the risks. WBA’s unstable profits reported over time resulted in significant Drawdowns within these last five years. A stable profit reduces stock drawdown and volatility. The average Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for the industry is 90, placing this stock worse than average.

Contributor

Sergey Savastiouk|Expert

Sergey Savastiouk, Ph.D. has a degree in Applied Mathematics from Moscow University and has extensive experience as an entrepreneur, investor, manager, and mathematician. His professional expertise is in applied mathematics, mathematical modeling, system and pattern analysis, and software and hardware system integration. He has served as the CEO of several hi-tech start-up companies and nonprofit organizations, which has given him proven capabilities in business strategy for high-tech start-up companies, market assessment, company formation, team building, product development, marketing, and sales. He has published numerous articles in journals and magazines on related fields. As a retail investor, he spent 15 years developing his proprietary trading and quantitative algorithms (now Tickeron’s A.I.), which brought him significant returns in trading the stock market. His current work and goal in founding Tickeron is to bring professional, sophisticated stock market analysis capabilities to retail investors via an easy-to-use interface.