CVS Expands Its Nationwide Care Network With Rite Aid Acquisition

CVS Health’s CVS Pharmacy unit has officially completed the acquisition of select Rite Aid assets across the United States. The deal adds 63 former Rite Aid and Bartell Drugs stores in Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Additionally, CVS Pharmacy took over the prescription files of 626 pharmacies in 15 states, extending care to more than nine million additional patients. The new patients and customers will gain access to CVS’ innovative pharmacy care programs and exclusive store brand products, among others. The latest move aligns with the company’s focus on maintaining and expanding access to convenient and trusted pharmacy care nationwide, and growing its retail footprint and presence in local communities.CVS participated in a bankruptcy court-approved bidding process of the Philadelphia-based drugstore chain, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in May this year to pursue a sale of its prescriptions, pharmacy and front-end inventory and other assets. Rite Aid initially filed for bankruptcy in August 2023, bogged down by many opioid lawsuits and legal battles, but emerged out of it after undergoing a financial restructuring and marking its beginning as a private company.To ensure patient services, CVS Pharmacy has hired more than 3,500 former Rite Aid and Bartell Drug staff. The company has also made targeted investments in existing locations, including scheduling additional support, enhancing recruitment and hiring and strengthening training programs, helping teams deliver consistent service for both new and existing patients.CVS Health’s Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness segment has delivered steady revenue growth quarter after quarter, driven by strong execution across 9,000 local community health destinations and the efforts of more than 200,000 employees. The unit’s revenues are expected to benefit from the higher prescription and front-store volume resulting from the Rite Aid transaction.CVS Health Competitors’ UpdatesUnitedHealth Group UNH closed the $3.3 billion acquisition of home health care service provider, Amedisys, in August 2025. The merger completion followed a proposed settlement filed by the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division days before, requiring UNH and Amedisys to divest 164 home health and hospice locations, including an affiliated palliative care site, across 19 states, totaling approximately $528 million in annual revenues. By facility count, this was the largest divestiture of outpatient healthcare services to resolve a merger challenge.Cardinal Health CAH has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Solaris Health, the country's leading urology management services organization (MSO). The transaction accelerates the company’s multi-specialty growth strategy by adding more than 750 providers in The Specialty Alliance, its multi-specialty MSO platform. Cardinal Health expects the deal to close by 2025 end, subject to closing conditions, and to be accretive to its non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) in the first year following close.CVS’ Stock Performance, Valuation and EstimatesYear to date, CVS Health shares have surged 81.3% compared with the industry’s 0.5% growth. Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchCVS Health is trading at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) of 11.65X, lower than the industry average of 15.25X.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchSee how the analysts are projecting CVS Health’s 2025 earnings.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchCVS currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in the coming year. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +112%, +171%, +209% and +232%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH): Free Stock Analysis Report Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH): Free Stock Analysis Report CVS Health Corporation (CVS): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks