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Here's How Much a $1000 Investment in Elevance Health Made 10 Years Ago Would Be Worth Today

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How much a stock's price changes over time is a significant driver for most investors. Not only can price performance impact your portfolio, but it can help you compare investment results across sectors and industries as well.

Another thing that can drive investing is the fear of missing out, or FOMO. This particularly applies to tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.

What if you'd invested in Elevance Health (ELV - Free Report) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to ELV for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?

Elevance Health's Business In-Depth

With that in mind, let's take a look at Elevance Health's main business drivers.

Based in Indianapolis, IN, Elevance Health is one of the largest publicly traded health insurers in the United States, in terms of membership. The company was previously named Anthem, Inc. Effective Jun 27, 2022, the corporate name was changed to Elevance Health and began trading under the ticker “ELV” on Jun 28. Before Anthem, it was named WellPoint Inc.
 
The company is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA). Medical membership of Elevance Health as of Dec 31, 2023, totaled 47 million. With the latest name change the company announced a rejig of its brand portfolio. The company is expected to organize its brand portfolio into Anthem Blue Cross/Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Wellpoint, and Carelon core go-to-market brands.
 
Elevance Health currently operates through three reportable segments:
 
Health Benefits (aggregation of the previously known Commercial & Specialty Business and Government Business), Carelon (includes CarelonRx and Carelon Services), and Corporate & Other.
 
Health Benefits now encompasses group risk-based and fee-based, Individual and BlueCard businesses. It offers administrative managed care services to fee-based clients. Furthermore, this unit offers products like vision, dental, life, disability and supplemental health insurance benefits. Also, the segment consists of Medicaid, Medicare businesses and National Government Services.

Carelon comprises CarelonRx (previously IngenioRx) and Carelon Services (previously Diversified Business Group). The healthcare services brand Carelon was launched in June 2022 as part of ELV’s rebranding process. CarelonRx markets and offers PBM services to health plan clients as well as external customers. The PBM service portfolio incorporates services like pharmacy networks, formulary management, prescription drug database, member services and others.

 Corporate & Other comprises businesses that cannot meet the quantitative threshold of other segments. It also includes corporate expenses which cannot be allocated to other segments.

Bottom Line

Anyone can invest, but building a successful investment portfolio requires research, patience, and a little bit of risk. So, if you had invested in Elevance Health ten years ago, you're likely feeling pretty good about your investment today.

According to our calculations, a $1000 investment made in February 2014 would be worth $5,858.63, or a 485.86% gain, as of February 20, 2024. Investors should keep in mind that this return excludes dividends but includes price appreciation.

Compare this to the S&P 500's rally of 173.72% and gold's return of 47.57% over the same time frame.

Analysts are forecasting more upside for ELV too.

Elevance Health's revenue growth, fueled by premium rate increases and expanding memberships, contributes to its positive trajectory. Strategic acquisitions and partnerships have fortified its business portfolio. Notably, a robust Medicare Advantage segment, combined with successful contract acquisitions, is poised to drive future membership growth. The Carelon business is a key contributor to its success. It utilizes excess capital to boost shareholder value. The company’s shares outperformed the industry in the past year. The company beat earnings estimates by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. However, Elevance Health's rising expenses continue to put pressure on margins. In 2023, the metric jumped by 9.8% year over year. Its balance sheet debt is increasing, reducing financial flexibility. As such, the stock warrants a cautious stance.

Shares have gained 8.64% over the past four weeks and there have been 6 higher earnings estimate revisions for fiscal 2024 compared to none lower. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.

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