Loop starts Cross Country Healthcare at Buy on high demand for travel nurses

As previously reported yesterday, Loop Capital analyst Joseph France initiated coverage of Cross Country Healthcare with a Buy rating and $30 price target. The stock is down 20% over the past three months on fears that the demand for contingent labor will decline sharply as travel nurses, which account for three-quarters of the company’s revenue, return to full-time positions, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm adds however that while placements should slow further, bill rates remain 30% above pre-pandemic 2019 levels because demand for travel nurses is still high. Loop Capital further states that while nursing shortage is easing, retirements, changing practice patterns, and too few new graduates should sustain demand for contingent labor at higher levels than in the past.