Sunday, April 14, 2013

Why Express Scripts Looks Healthy Long-Term

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX  ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Express Scripts and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Express Scripts facts

Headquarters (founded)

St. Louis (1986)

Market Cap

$46.9 billion

Industry

Healthcare services

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$93.9 billion

Management

Chairman/CEO George Paz

CFO Jeffrey Hall

Return on Equity (average, past 3 years)

28.7%

Cash/Debt

$2.8 billion / $15.9 billion

Competitors

Aetna
Cigna
Humana

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 94% of the 844 members who have rated Express Scripts believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.

Late last month, one of those bulls, All-Star NovaTodd, succinctly summed up the bull case for our community:

Accounting for the recent Medco acquisition, Express Scripts now does business with ~95% of retail pharmacies in the U.S., and possesses significant bargaining power in this relationship (see the Walgreen fiasco for evidence of this). They also have about 60% market share in the mail-order prescriptions business, fertile ground for future growth. Favorable demographic shifts, the closing of the "Medicare donut hole" and a recent share repurchase authorization are just a few more reasons this company is a long term winner.

If you want market-thumping returns, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Of course, despite a strong five-star rating, Express Scripts may not be your top choice.

We've found another stock we are incredibly excited about -- excited enough to dub it "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2013." We have compiled a special free report for investors to uncover this stock today. The report is 100% free, but it won't be here forever, so click here to access it now.

 Want to see how well (or not so well) the stocks in this series are performing? Follow the TrackPoisedTo CAPS account.

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