It was another record quarter for WELL Health Technologies (TSX:WELL) this month, sending shares up by about 8% after the earnings report. Yet despite record earnings, the company is still far below 52-week highs, and even further from all-time highs.
So what’s been going on with WELL stock, and is the recent jump in share price enough to turn investors around?
About WELL stock
Before we get into what happened, let’s get into what makes WELL stock so successful in the first place. The company came on the scene before the pandemic, but surged in share price due to its pandemic-friendly offerings.
The healthcare stock focuses on consolidating and modernizing healthcare clinics by providing them with a suite of digital tools and services. The company’s goal is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare delivery while enhancing the patient experience.
WELL offers a variety of services, including electronic medical records (EMR) software, telehealth solutions, appointment scheduling systems, and virtual care platforms. These tools aim to streamline administrative tasks, facilitate communication between healthcare providers and patients, and enable remote consultations. Meanwhile, it continues to expand through acquisitions and has recently entered the artificial intelligence (AI) space.
Momentum
The key, however, comes down to recent earnings. WELL stock may have reported record results during the first quarter, but that won’t mean much if it doesn’t come on the back of continued strong results. And even less if the outlook looks poor.
Yet in this case, the company has been strong. WELL stock reported record quarterly revenue of $204.5 million in the third quarter, with an upgrade to its guidance to $900 million in revenue for 2024. This included more organic growth as well.
By the fourth quarter, WELL stock reported record revenue once more of $231.2 million, with record net income of $33.8 million as well. It then increased its annual revenue guidance again to between $950 and $970 million.
What happened
So what actually happened during the first quarter? You guessed it, more records, and another guidance increase. WELL stock achieved record quarterly revenue of $231.6 million this time around, with net income climbing to $19.6 million – down from the last quarter, but still impressive.
Furthermore, WELL stock increased its guidance once again. The company now expects annual revenue for 2024 to be between $960 and $980 million. Furthermore, it believes the company’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) should be in the upper end of between $125 and $130 million.
More organic growth, more acquisitions, and more proof that the company is worth it sent shares upwards this month. And with positive earnings per share (EPS) during the first quarter of 2024, it was an earnings quarter that set WELL stock up for a strong year ahead. And it needs one after seeing shares drop so much in the last few years.
So with shares climbing, yet still remaining under $5 per share, now could certainly be the time to consider WELL stock once again.
