CVS Caremark Tumbles on Walgreen Deal

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By Trey Thoelcke Updated Published

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CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) was down more than 2% in premarket trading Thursday, and its was down more than 5%, or less than $46 a share, in early trading. This after the stock reached a new multiyear high of $48.69 in Wednesday’s regular session.

The pharmacy benefit manager and drugstore operator went ex-dividend today. Perhaps investors have decided to take the money and run after rival Walgreen (NYSE: WAG) announced early this morning that it had ended its feud with Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX). Beginning in September, Walgreens stores will again be part of the pharmacy network served by Express Scripts.

Only yesterday, a JMP Securities analyst suggested that CVS Caremark could continue to benefit from the dispute between two of its competitors. He even suggested that the dispute between Walgreen and Express Scripts might add about 8 cents per share to CVS’s profit in 2012.

Walgreen shares are up about 12% in early trading, at $34.70, in a 52-week range of $28.53 to $42.36.

Shares of Express Scripts are up more than 2% to $59.01. The 52-week range was $34.47 to $58.98.

CVS’s response to the news is available here.

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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