Walgreen Boots Stock Price, News & Analysis

Walgreens Boots Alliance (Nasdaq: WBA) in collaboration with VillageMD has announced the opening of the first Village Medical at Walgreens primary care practice in Las Vegas. This initiative aims to provide coordinated primary care and pharmacy services, addressing healthcare access issues highlighted by a recent survey showing that 65% of Nevadans worry about healthcare costs. The new practice will create over 45 full-time jobs and is part of a plan to expand to 200 locations across the U.S. by year-end.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) is enhancing its commitment to diversity by redesigning its annual bonus plan to include a disability representation metric, marking it as the first in the S&P 500 to do so. This initiative aims to improve the hiring and retention of people with disabilities, addressing significant barriers to employment. Furthermore, WBA has partnered with Neurodiversity in the Workplace to support the recruitment of neurodiverse talent. These efforts follow WBA’s established programs for disability inclusion, reaffirming its leadership in this space.

Walgreens Boots Alliance has initiated an offering of 10 million shares of AmerisourceBergen Corporation stock, alongside a concurrent $500 million share repurchase by AmerisourceBergen. Post-offering, Walgreens' stake in AmerisourceBergen will decrease from 26% to 20%. The proceeds will predominantly be used for debt paydown and to support strategic priorities, including acquisitions.

VillageMD has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Summit Health-CityMD for approximately $8.9 billion, with investments from Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) and Cigna (CI). This acquisition aims to enhance integrated healthcare offerings and create a multi-payor platform for quality, affordable care. WBA will invest $3.5 billion to support the acquisition, raising its U.S. Healthcare sales goal for fiscal year 2025 to $14.5 billion to $16.0 billion. The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2023.

Walgreens is celebrating Diabetes Awareness Month by offering complimentary diabetes services from November 9-16. These services include free A1C and blood glucose testing, along with educational support at various locations. The company has trained over 20,000 pharmacists to assist patients with diabetes management. Currently, 96 million American adults have prediabetes, and more than 37 million have diabetes. Walgreens aims to provide accessible healthcare solutions and an extensive range of diabetes-related products and services, reinforcing its commitment to the diabetes community.

Walgreens announced an agreement to settle opioid-related lawsuits for approximately $4.95 billion over 15 years. This settlement aims to resolve claims made by states, subdivisions, and tribes, without admitting liability. The company highlighted its commitment to addressing the opioid crisis through various initiatives, including patient education and availability of Naloxone. The frameworks are designed to allow Walgreens to focus on customer health and wellbeing while contributing positively to the ongoing crisis.

Western Union (NYSE: WU) and Walgreens (NASDAQ: WBA) announced a renewed five-year agreement, allowing customers to access Western Union's Money Transfer and bill payment services at approximately 9,000 Walgreens locations across the U.S. This partnership reflects both companies' commitment to delivering convenient financial services. Western Union's global network enables fast money transfers, enhancing customer engagement. The collaboration highlights Western Union's ongoing investment in expanding its omni-channel product offerings to meet diverse consumer financial needs.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) has appointed Bryan C. Hanson to its board of directors, effective October 27, 2022. With over 30 years in healthcare and technology, Hanson brings significant expertise to the company, serving on both the compensation and leadership performance committee and the finance and technology committee. Currently, he is the president and CEO of Zimmer Biomet. WBA's executive chairman, Stefano Pessina, and CEO Roz Brewer expressed optimism about his contribution to WBA's consumer-centric healthcare strategy.