By Sam Boughedda
A D.A. Davidson analyst initiated coverage of Teladoc (NYSE:TDOC) with a Buy rating and $45 price target in a research note to clients on Friday.
The analyst said they believe Teladoc has established itself as the leader in telehealth, with operational scale and completeness of offerings that allow it to offer differentiated service to customers.
"COVID created unprecedented tailwinds for the market, which turned into headwinds; we believe we are now at stable to growing penetration rates for telehealth, and that Teladoc is well-positioned to continue to lead the market's growth and evolution, and see upside to the stock at current levels," wrote the analyst.
The analyst added that the telehealth firm has extensively used internal development and M&A to create the most complete suite of virtual medical offerings and while it still has work to do to integrate the offerings, "the ability to land in multiple ways, and then to cross-sell in multiple ways, gives it a strong flywheel to keep delivering results."
"Its entry into primary care is likely to create stickier, more recurring relationships with patients. Large acquisitions are unlikely in the near future, but we expect the company to continue to find tuck-in technologies to supplement its offerings," added the analyst.
Shares of Teladoc have rallied 6.45% Friday.