Shares of Ardent Health experienced a dramatic climb just before the company revealed its plans to acquire Boone Health. In the eight days leading up to Thursday’s announcement, the for-profit hospital operator saw its stock price jump 55 percent. After hitting a monthly low of 11.71 dollars on November 3, the shares surged to 18.19 dollars by November 11, though they dipped slightly following the official public disclosure of the deal.
Market analysts suggest that several factors contributed to this upward trend beyond the impending acquisition. Many hospital groups nationwide saw similar gains following the November 3 midterm elections, driven by hopes that a Democratic majority in Congress might roll back Medicaid enrollment restrictions established under previous federal spending legislation. This political optimism coincided with Ardent releasing its third-quarter financial results on November 4, which showed earnings growing by 20 percent over the previous quarter despite flat overall revenue of 1.62 billion dollars.
Despite the sharp rise in value, there is currently no evidence of insider trading tied to the move. A review of SEC filings indicates that neither Ardent Health executives nor Equity Group Investments, the Chicago-based private equity firm that holds a majority stake in the company, conducted any stock transactions during those critical eight days.
As it moves forward with the purchase, Ardent Health continues to maintain a stable footing in the healthcare market. The company operates 30 acute care hospitals across six different states and has held a B+ credit rating from S&P Global since early last year.