Rite Aid Downgraded To Neutral At Credit Suisse, Price Target Cut To $9

Rite Aid Corp. was downgraded to neutral from outperform at Credit Suisse, and the price target lowered to $9 from $10 after the drugstore chain agreed earlier this week to be acquired by Walgreens Boots Alliance . Credit Suisse expects the transaction to close and believes the deal is a positive for both companies. However, the bank believes that purchasing Rite Aid now will only yield a fixed return. "The stock has essentially become an arb play as opposed to a fundamental story and we expect it to be range bound for some time, as the deal could take close to a year to close." Rite Aid shares are up 30.4% for the week so far. The S&P is up 0.7% for the same period.