Barclays lowered the firm’s price target on HCA Healthcare (HCA) to $366 from $392 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. Following a slight earnings beat and reiterated 2025 guidance, HCA’s stock finished down 4% on Friday, with the primary concerns being a $200M positive revision to the full-year Medicaid state-directed payment benefit that helped drive the beat, and the acknowledgment that fiscal 2024 and 2025 Tennessee state-directed payments were contemplated in 2025 guidance, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says that while the comments surrounding state-directed payments “left something to be desired,” the indirect impact of hurricanes was likely greater than appreciated. Regardless, HCA ‘s core EBITDA growth embedded in 2025 guidance is close to 7%, which is objectively strong and contributes to 14% earnings growth, contends Barclays.
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