Stock price when the opinion was issued
It was a good quarter. But it is important to note that one quarter does not make a trend, and there is still lots of work to be done here. It is still in turnaround mode. It still has a massive amount of debt. It is cheap, though, and the quarter might see shorts start to cover a bit. So the trend will likely be 'up' and the worst 'could' be over here. But there remains plenty of risk and we would prefer to see another quarter or two of continued improvement, and even pay more once the turn is indeed fully established and on a firm foothold. Much could still go wrong here.
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He has owned CVS instead in the past. This and WBA have been hit hard in recent years from a lingering concern over pressure on drug prices in the U.S. So, both have expanded into drug distribution, not just drug retail. The multiple that the market will pay for either has compressed. So, he prefers other stocks in this space, like Loblaws (which owns Shoppers Drug Mart) Drug. Traditionally, drug retailing is a stable business, but in the U.S. the pricing issue remains an overhang.