DaVita HealthCare Partners (NYSE:DVA) was downgraded by Zacks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Market Beat.com reports.

According to Zacks, “DaVita’s earnings per share in the second quarter surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The outperformance came on the back of rise in patient service, capitated and other revenues. DaVita Healthcare’s strength lies in its enhanced service offerings and compelling inorganic growth story. The company’s incessant efforts to upgrade services, its global expansion initiatives and active acquisitions remain impressive and are supported by its strong financial position. The merger of the HealthCare segment with HealthCare Partners also bodes well for long-term growth, although Medicare Advantage (MA) rate cuts may hurt this segment in the future. High debt levels, adverse effects of healthcare reforms, and an increase in MA beneficiaries are other concerns.”

In other news, COO Michael David Staffieri sold 9,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.07, for a total value of $760,833.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Robert J. Margolis sold 31,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.39, for a total value of $2,618,446.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

DaVita HealthCare Partners (NYSE:DVA) traded down 0.15% during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $81.02. The company had a trading volume of 1,107,146 shares. DaVita HealthCare Partners has a 12-month low of $71.43 and a 12-month high of $85.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $79.90 and a 200 day moving average of $79.87. The company has a market capitalization of $17.42 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.96.

DaVita HealthCare Partners (NYSE:DVA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $0.95. The firm earned $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. DaVita HealthCare Partners’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. On average, analysts expect that DaVita HealthCare Partners will post $3.76 EPS for the current year.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. RBC Capital increased their price target on DaVita HealthCare Partners from $60.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Vetr downgraded DaVita HealthCare Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.97 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of DaVita HealthCare Partners in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Piper Jaffray lifted their price objective on DaVita HealthCare Partners from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 price target (up previously from $75.00) on shares of DaVita HealthCare Partners in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.20.

DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. consists of two divisions, Kidney Care and HealthCare Partners (NYSE:DVA). Kidney Care is a provider of dialysis services in the United States, treating patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease (ESRD). Kidney Care division develops innovative clinical care, offers integrated treatment plans, personalized care teams and health-management services. As of December 31, 2014, we provided dialysis and administrative services in the U.S. through a network of 2,179 outpatient dialysis centers in 46 states and the District of Columbia, serving a total of approximately 173,000 patients. HealthCare Partners division is a patient- and physician-focused integrated health care delivery and management company. HealthCare Partners manages and operates medical groups and affiliated physician networks in Arizona, California, Nevada, Florida and New Mexico. As of December 2014, HealthCare Partners had approximately 837,000 members under its care.

To get a free copy of the research report on DaVita HealthCare Partners (DVA), click here. For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

Receive News & Ratings for DaVita HealthCare Partners Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for DaVita HealthCare Partners and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

...