TDOC Stock Gets Big Boost From Preliminary Report

Teladoc Health Inc (NYSE:TDOC) this morning announced preliminary first-quarter revenue between $180 and $181 million, exceeding analysts estimates. The expected revenue spike is due in large part to a massive coronavirus-related surge in demand, with the company adding that virtual visits in the U.S. are now exceeding 20,000 per day, doubling the number of visits seen during the first week of March. As a result, TDOC stock is up 3.2% to trade at $162.30.

The announcement captured the attention of the brokerage bunch. No less than three analysts hiked their price targets, including J.P. Morgan Securities, which lifted its estimate to $182 from $164. Deutsche Bank was the outlier, cutting its price target to $172 from $179. 

Coming into today, analysts were divided on TDOC. Of the 20 in coverage, nine called it a “buy” or better, while the remaining 11 said “hold." Meanwhile, the security’s 12-month consensus target price of $149.14 is an 8.8% discount to current levels. 

TDOC has bucked the broadmarket fallout in a big way this year, with several pullbacks deftly captured by the 40-day moving average. Now, the security is eyeing its fourth daily win, climbing back towards its March 24 all-time high of $176.40. Year-over-year, Teledoc is up over 200%. 

In the options pits, calls have been the preference of late. TDOC sports a 50-day call/put volume ratio of 2.54 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which sits higher than 76% of all other readings from the past 12 months.