Balanced View: DaVita’s near-term EBIT upside offset by structural growth hurdles

In a report released yesterday, Ryan Langston from TD Cowen maintained a Hold rating on DaVita, with a price target of $144.00.

Ryan Langston has given his Hold rating due to a combination of factors that balance near-term operational wins with lingering structural questions. He acknowledges that DaVita surpassed adjusted EBIT expectations—driven largely by a sizable outperformance from IKC—and lifted its FY26 EBIT outlook, highlighting management’s confidence in achieving early-stage productivity targets while benefiting from the removal of unique cyberattack-related headwinds and favorable capital deployment that boosts EPS.
Yet Langston maintains a neutral stance because the path back to meaningful non-acquired volume growth remains protracted, future ACA headwinds persist, and management’s guidance relies on executing multiple incremental gains across U.S. dialysis, international operations, and IKC to deliver modest consolidated operating income growth. With mortality improvements and core volume inflection still over the horizon, he believes the risk/reward looks balanced despite a slightly higher price target anchored by a 7.25x 2027 EV/EBITDA multiple.

In another report released yesterday, Barclays also maintained a Hold rating on the stock with a $158.00 price target.