Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) stock has cooled off after a powerful run in 2025, raising a key question for investors: is this just a healthy pullback, or the start of something more serious?
Below is a detailed, news-driven look at Cardinal Health’s share price, fundamentals, analyst forecasts and key risks as of December 3, 2025.
Cardinal Health Stock Today: Five Straight Losses After a Huge 2025 Rally
At the close on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, Cardinal Health shares finished at $199.71, down 2.64% on the day. That decline came despite a positive session for the broader market, with the S&P 500 up 0.30% and the Dow up 0.86%. [1]
The recent weakness has broken some of the euphoria around the name:
- Five consecutive down days in CAH.
- The stock now sits about 7% below its 52‑week high of $214.93, reached on November 26, 2025. [2]
- Yet over a longer horizon, performance has been outstanding: CAH has delivered roughly 74% 1‑year and 81% year‑to‑date total returns in 2025. [3]
Measured by traditional metrics, Cardinal Health is no longer a forgotten value play:
- Market cap: around $50–51 billion [4]
- Trailing P/E: ~31.6
- Forward P/E: ~21.5
- Dividend yield: ~1%, with a payout ratio near 31%, suggesting room for continued dividend growth. [5]
In other words, the stock has rerated significantly — but the pullback may be giving investors a chance to reassess entry points after a big move.
What Changed on December 3, 2025? Fresh Headlines Around CAH
While there was no new earnings release today, several developments are shaping the narrative around Cardinal Health.
1. Underperformance vs. Peers and the Index
MarketWatch flagged Cardinal Health as an underperformer on December 3, highlighting the 2.64% drop to $199.71 against rising major indices and noting that this was the fifth straight daily decline and left the stock 7.08% off its recent 52‑week high. [6]
In relative terms, CAH’s move came as:
- Amazon fell about 0.9%
- CVS Health dropped about 3.4%
- UnitedHealth jumped roughly 4.7% [7]
This underperformance looks more like profit‑taking after a surge than a single, company‑specific shock.
2. Big Institutional Investors Are Still Buying
Two fresh 13F‑related headlines published today show large investors increasing exposure:
- OMERS Administration Corp raised its CAH position by 130% in the latest reported quarter, to just over 20,000 shares worth roughly $3.4 million. [8]
- A separate filing shows Quantbot Technologies LP also purchasing CAH shares, adding another data point to the trend of quantitative and institutional money moving into the name. [9]
These filings reflect past quarters, but their publication today reinforces the message that major institutions have been building positions even as the stock rallied in 2025.
3. CAH Named a Healthcare Stock to Watch
A fresh MarketBeat screen released on December 3 highlights Cardinal Health, UnitedHealth and McKesson as three healthcare stocks to watch, underscoring CAH’s strong momentum and fundamentals relative to the sector. [10]
Being repeatedly featured on such “top healthcare stocks” lists helps sustain interest from both retail and professional investors.
4. Recent Insider Activity Looks Benign
New Form 4 filings disclosed over the last day show:
- Senior leaders had hundreds of RSU shares withheld at around $212.26 per share to cover tax obligations. [11]
Crucially, these were not open‑market sales — they’re standard tax‑withholding transactions linked to equity compensation, and typically not viewed as a bearish signal.
5. Management in the Spotlight at Citi’s Healthcare Conference
On December 3, Cardinal Health’s leadership appeared at the Citi Annual Global Healthcare Conference 2025, with a full transcript posted on Seeking Alpha. [12]
While the full content is behind a transcript, these conference appearances usually:
- Reiterate strategy around specialty pharmaceuticals and medical products
- Update investors on integration of acquisitions such as Solaris Health
- Provide color on margin trends and capital allocation
Any subtle shifts in tone from management will likely be parsed by analysts over the next few days.
Big Picture: The Earnings Story Behind CAH’s 2025 Breakout
Today’s wobble sits on top of a very strong fundamental story that unfolded through 2025.
Blowout Q1 FY 2026 Results and a Guidance Hike
On October 30, 2025, Cardinal Health reported fiscal Q1 2026 results that decisively beat expectations:
- Revenue: about $64 billion, up 22% year‑over‑year, ahead of consensus. [13]
- Adjusted EPS: roughly $2.55 vs expectations around $2.18. [14]
- Pharmaceutical and specialty‑solutions revenue: +23% to $59 billion, driven by specialty drugs and acquisitions. [15]
- Global Medical Products & Distribution revenue: +2% to $3.2 billion, with segment profit up sharply thanks to higher volumes. [16]
Management raised full‑year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $9.65–$9.85, up from an already higher range of $9.30–$9.50, and above many Street forecasts. [17]
The market loved it: reports from Barron’s and Reuters noted the stock jumping roughly 16–18% on the day and hitting record levels. [18]
Specialty Drugs and the Solaris Health Deal
A major plank of the long‑term story is Cardinal’s push deeper into specialty medicines and physician services:
- Specialty drugs like oncology therapies and GLP‑1 weight‑loss medications carry higher margins and are driving distributors’ profit growth across the industry. [19]
- Earlier in 2025, Cardinal announced a $1.9 billion deal to acquire Solaris Health, a urology‑focused management services organization. Including debt, the transaction is valued at roughly $2.4 billion and will give Cardinal about 75% ownership of its Specialty Alliance MSO platform. [20]
- Solaris brings 750+ providers across 14 U.S. states, expanding Cardinal’s footprint in specialty physician services. [21]
Initially, the stock sold off sharply on the Solaris announcement — it was the worst performer in the S&P 500 on August 12, 2025, dropping around 10% on mixed quarterly results and acquisition concerns. [22]
But as earnings momentum improved and guidance was raised again in October, the market grew more comfortable with the strategy and the stock went on to make new all‑time highs. [23]
How Wall Street Sees Cardinal Health Now
Despite the recent pullback, analyst sentiment remains broadly positive.
Consensus Ratings: Mostly “Buy”
Across several data providers:
- MarketBeat shows a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target around $206.6 and a roughly 1% dividend yield. [24]
- StockAnalysis aggregates 11 analysts with a “Buy” consensus and an average 12‑month target near $196.4, in a target range from roughly $145 to $225. [25]
- Investing.com reports a consensus “Buy” rating from about 14 analysts, with 11 Buys, 4 Holds and 1 Sell. [26]
- TickerNerd cites 23 Wall Street analysts with a “Strong Buy” lean and a median price target of $220 (range $167–$232), implying around 7% upside versus recent prices in the low $200s at the time of their report. [27]
Taken together, most analysts are positive, but they’re not projecting explosive upside from here — more like low- to mid‑single‑digit gains over the next year from current levels near $200.
Recent Target Hikes
Q4 2025 has been busy on the research front:
- TD Cowen raised its price target to $225 with a Buy rating. [28]
- Wells Fargo boosted its target from $185 to $221, maintaining a Buy. [29]
- Mizuho increased its target from $170 to $210, citing strong fiscal Q1 results and momentum from the Solaris deal, and raised its long‑term EPS forecasts. [30]
- Other firms, including Citigroup, UBS and Robert W. Baird, also raised or reiterated targets in the $190–$232 range in recent weeks. [31]
Meanwhile, Zacks maintains Cardinal Health at a Rank #2 (Buy), highlighting it as both a value and momentum name and featuring it among its stronger stock ideas for December 2025. [32]
Independent Valuation Models
Not all analysis is purely target‑price based:
- A recent Simply Wall St report uses a discounted cash flow (DCF) model and concludes that Cardinal Health is undervalued by around 55% versus its estimated intrinsic value, suggesting a significant margin of safety if their assumptions hold. [33]
That said, DCF models are sensitive to growth and discount‑rate inputs, so investors should treat this as one perspective, not a guaranteed outcome.
Technical and Momentum Picture
From a technical standpoint, Cardinal Health has been a textbook momentum winner in 2025:
- Investor’s Business Daily highlighted CAH for achieving a Relative Strength (RS) Rating above 90, placing it in the elite group of stocks that have outperformed 90% of the market over the prior 52 weeks. [34]
- The stock blasted through a prior buy point around $168, then extended far beyond the ideal “buy zone” before pulling back in late November and early December. [35]
A separate quantitative trend analysis notes that as of early December, moving‑average signals remain more bullish than bearish (three positive vs one negative), even after the recent slide — indicating the uptrend is intact but extended. [36]
For technically oriented investors, the current pullback toward the $190–$200 area may be seen as:
- A normal consolidation after a huge run, or
- A warning sign if the stock breaks decisively below key moving averages in coming days and weeks.
Fundamentals Check: Is CAH Expensive or Still Reasonably Priced?
Valuation is where opinions start to diverge.
Why Bulls Say the Stock Is Still Attractive
Bullish arguments typically include:
- Earnings Growth and Upgraded Guidance
- Reasonable Multiples vs. Growth
- A forward P/E in the low 20s looks modest relative to the company’s recent earnings growth and upgraded outlook. [39]
- Dividend and Capital Returns
- The dividend yield around 1% may be modest, but the payout ratio near 30% leaves room for further increases alongside earnings. [40]
- Strong Relative Performance
- The RS rating above 90 and significant outperformance vs. the S&P 500 signal that institutional buyers have been rewarding the story. [41]
Combined, these factors have led some analysts and quant models to label CAH as undervalued despite its run, or at least as fairly valued relative to its growth profile. [42]
Why Bears (and Skeptics) Urge Caution
More cautious investors point to several issues:
- OptumRx Contract Loss and Customer Concentration
- Earlier in 2025, Cardinal reported lower reported sales due to the expiration of a major OptumRx customer contract, reminding investors how dependent distributors can be on large accounts. [43]
- Thin Margins in Distribution
- Drug distribution is a low‑margin business, and any misstep in pricing, reimbursement or product mix can hit earnings hard.
- Execution and Integration Risk
- The Solaris Health acquisition and ongoing MSO roll‑up strategy are complex, with integration and regulatory risks. Earlier quarters already showed how new deals can unsettle investors when combined with mixed revenue trends. [44]
- Valuation vs. History
- A trailing P/E above 30 is high relative to where CAH traded for much of the last decade, making the stock more vulnerable if growth slows or guidance disappoints. [45]
Upcoming Catalysts to Watch
For investors following CAH closely, several upcoming events could move the stock:
- Next Earnings Report: Multiple calendars currently estimate January 29, 2026 as the next earnings release date (before the market open), based on the company’s typical schedule. [46]
- Solaris Health Deal Closing: The Solaris acquisition is expected to close by late 2025, and management has signaled it should be slightly accretive in the first year. [47]
- Further Analyst Revisions: After the huge Q1 beat, any additional guidance updates or price‑target changes from major firms could drive short‑term swings. [48]
Is Cardinal Health Stock a Buy After the December 3 Pullback?
Ultimately, whether CAH is a buy here depends on your time horizon and risk profile, but the current setup can be framed as follows:
Case for the Bullish Long‑Term Investor
You might lean constructively on CAH if you believe that:
- The specialty drug trend and physician‑services expansion (Solaris, MSO platform) will continue to support double‑digit EPS growth. [49]
- Management can sustain margins despite customer churn and reimbursement pressure.
- The recent 5‑day pullback is a normal correction after an exceptional run, and the stock can consolidate before pushing toward or above analyst targets in the $200–$220 range. [50]
Case for Waiting on the Sidelines
You might prefer to wait or trim if you are concerned that:
- Current valuation already prices in much of the earnings upgrade and Solaris upside, leaving limited near‑term upside. [51]
- Any stumble on guidance at the next earnings call — even a small miss — could trigger another sharp correction, as seen around the Solaris announcement earlier in 2025. [52]
- You want clearer signs that the recent downtrend has stabilized, such as a base forming above key moving averages. [53]
Bottom Line
As of December 3, 2025, Cardinal Health is a high‑quality, high‑momentum healthcare name experiencing a short‑term pullback after an extraordinary 2025 rally. Earnings momentum is strong, analyst sentiment is still broadly bullish, and large institutions continue to accumulate shares — but valuation is no longer cheap, and execution risks around specialty expansion and acquisitions remain.
For long‑term investors comfortable with volatility in healthcare distribution, CAH still looks like a credible core holding candidate. Short‑term traders, however, may want to watch how the stock behaves around the $190–$200 range and into the next earnings report before making aggressive moves.
As always, this overview is informational only and not personalized investment advice. Consider your own risk tolerance and financial situation, or consult a licensed financial advisor, before buying or selling any stock.
References
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