HCA Healthcare downgraded to Market Perform at Bernstein on valuation

As previously reported, Bernstein analyst Lance Wilkes downgraded HCA Healthcare to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $301, up from $277. The stock has achieved much of the thesis the firm had outlined in mid-2022 and it now sees “more modest upside at current valuation levels” with its thesis now reflected in market expectations, the analyst tells investors. The firm believes the opportunity to outperform updated market expectations is now more limited as market expectations have risen and the firm’s estimates are only about 1% above consensus, the analyst added.