Shares of Waystar Holding spiked on Thursday after KeyBanc Capital Markets initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $30 price target, citing a valuation disconnect. Analyst Scott Schoenhaus argued that the cloud-based healthcare payments platform is trading at a level that does not reflect its growth profile and strong margins. A survey of hospital executives found that 25% of respondents now use Waystar after switching from UnitedHealth's Change Healthcare, with 75% very satisfied. KeyBanc's proprietary credit card data showed an uptick in healthcare utilization and Waystar's volume-based revenue in June, with preliminary data for healthcare spend looking improved. Schoenhaus also ruled out a potential impact from AI, arguing that large language models will struggle to replicate Waystar's end-to-end platform connecting 5,000 payers and over 1 million providers.
Waystar Holding Corp. Common StockKeyBanc initiates Overweight rating and $30 price target, citing valuation disconnect and strong growth/margins.
UnitedHealth Group IncorporatedArticle mentions hospital executives switching from UnitedHealth's Change Healthcare to Waystar, indicating competitive loss.