- BofA Securities analyst Kevin Fischbeck has downgraded shares of DaVita (NYSE:DVA) to underperform from neutral and is cutting his price target from $127 to $118.
- He writes that the company is not as "levered" as its competitors in terms of being prepared for an expected modest increase in patients as COVID-19 begins to subside.
- Dialysis has been more resilient during the pandemic than other health care industries, he notes.
- Although Fischbeck says that health care utilization should bounce back in the second half of the year, dialysis will not benefit as much from this rebound.
- Also, DaVita has guided 2021 operating income just below expectations as same-store volume is projected to decline 1%-2% year-over-year because of higher mortality of dialysis patients during the pandemic, Fischbeck adds.
- DaVita shares are down 2.4% to $108.15 in morning trading.