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2020-09-14 10:13

CVS Health Corp. said last week that an additional 120 of its CVS Pharmacies across the U.S. have now started drive-thru testing for COVID-19. In total, the company has now established over 2,000 sites that are testing children aged twelve and above as schools are scheduled to reopen in the United States.

According to CVS Corp, the move is directed at improving access for people to COVID-19 testing in a bid to minimize the fast spread of the novel flu-like virus that has so far infected more than 6.7 million people in the U.S. and caused a little under 200 thousand deaths.

For children under 12, CVS Corp commented, parents or guardians should consult with the paediatrician to explore appropriate options to have them tested for COVID-19.

CVS Health takes pride in contactless COVID-19 testing
The American healthcare company takes pride in its contactless approach for COVID-19 testing. Trained experts, CVS said, provide test kits through the drive-thru window along with instructions. The professional also observes if the self-swab process is administered as per the directions.

As per the Woonsocket-based firm, COVID-19 testing will not take place inside its retail locations but only in the drive-thru and parking lots. CVS Pharmacy, MinuteClinic, and HealthHUB locations will continue to cater to patients and customers in the upcoming months.

CVS Pharmacy introduced drive-thru testing earlier this year in March at its Shrewsbury location when the outbreak was at its peak. Ever since, it has launched countless new locations for COVID-19 rapid testing across the country.

The health company says it has so far administered over three million tests in almost six months.
The news of additional 120 sites for COVID-19 testing came only weeks after CVS said in mid-August that it had expanded the network by another 77 sites in Florida.

In related news, Delta Air Lines revealed last month to have partnered with CVS Corp as it aimed at keeping its flight crew tested for COVID-19.

CVS Health published its Q2 earnings report in May
In its earnings report for the fiscal second quarter published in May, CVS Health reported $65.3 billion in revenue (3% annualized growth) and $2.64 of adjusted earnings per share. In comparison, experts had forecast the company to print a lower $1.93 of earnings per share on $64.23 billion of revenue.

At $2.98 billion, the drugstore chain’s net income in Q2 came in significantly higher than $1.94 billion in the comparable quarter of last year.

Estimate for CVS Health’s average price target, as per Wall Street analysts, currently stands at $82.60 per share that translates to an upside potential of 43.90%. The price range is from a low of $66 per share to a high of $104 per share.

Based on 17 analysts, CVS has a ‘buy’ rating with 12 of them signalling buy, 2 have a strong buy rating, and the remaining 3 have a hold rating.

As of Friday’s close, CVS Health is now more than 20% down year to date in the stock market. It is valued at $75.12 billion and has a price to earnings ratio of 9.11.