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CVS Health Corporation (CVS) is a prominent provider of health solutions, including health care and retail pharmacy services. With a market cap of $115.6 billion, the company offers prescription medications, beauty, personal care, cosmetics, and health care products, as well as pharmacy benefit management (PBM), disease management, and administrative services.
Companies worth $10 billion or more are generally described as “large-cap stocks,” and CVS effortlessly fits that bill, with its market cap exceeding this mark, underscoring its size, influence, and dominance within the healthcare industry.
CVS slipped 9.1% from its 52-week high of $98.43 achieved recently on May 14. Over the past three months, CVS stock has soared 9.6%, compared to the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 10.6% rise.
Shares of CVS surged 12.8% on a YTD basis and have 40.7% over the past 52 weeks, significantly outperforming SPX’s YTD gains of 11.2% and 28.2% returns over the last year.
To confirm the bullish trend, CVS has traded above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages since early April.
On May 6. CVS released its FY2026 Q1 earnings, and its shares popped 7.7%. Its revenue rose 6.2% year over year to $100.4 billion, surpassing the $100 billion mark for the quarter. Growth was supported by higher pharmacy sales, contributions from acquired Rite Aid assets, and strength in the Health Services segment. Adjusted EPS reached $2.57, up 12.5% year over year and comfortably ahead of Wall Street expectations.
Reflecting management's confidence, CVS raised its full-year 2026 guidance, increasing its adjusted EPS outlook to $7.30–$7.50 from $7.00–$7.20.
In the competitive arena of healthcare plans, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH) has taken the lead over CVS in 2026, with a 14.5% uptick. However, UNH has delivered 24% gain over the past 52 weeks, trailing behind CVS.
Wall Street analysts remain bullish on CVS’ prospects. The stock has a consensus “Strong Buy” rating from the 24 analysts covering it, and the mean price target of $102.26 suggests a potential upside of 14.3% from current price levels.
