Orin
DVANYSE·Medical - Care Facilities

DaVita Inc. DVA

Market cap $11.7BP/E 15.7× trailingGross margin 31.0%Reports Wed 4 Nov, after the close
$182.99
−0.15 (−0.08%)live 09:40 ET
52-wk $101.00 – $247.49
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Orin's take
0.62conviction · moderate
Refreshed 20 Aug · take v7. A new filing or a print queues the next refresh.

DaVita has sold off sharply to $177.27 (as of 2026-08-19) with RSI at 25.9—deeply oversold—despite Q2 2026 results showing accelerating treatment-volume growth, lower patient mortality, and reaffirmed full-year 2026 guidance. At 15.2x P/E and 7.8x EV/EBITDA, the stock trades roughly 41-42% below peer medians, discounting the FY2025 margin compression (gross margin 27.0% vs 32.9% in 2024) and the levered balance sheet ($15.0B total debt, negative stockholders' equity of -$651M).

Smart money scores have improved from negative territory to +0.05 as of Q2 2026, and FY2025 free cash flow of $1.31B supports the business through the transition, making the risk/reward attractive at these levels.

What could go wrong

  • Margin compression. FY2025 gross margin fell to 27.0% from 32.9% in FY2024, and Q2 2026 news confirmed narrowing margins and a weaker commercial mix.
  • Levered balance sheet. Total debt surged to $15.05B in FY2025 from $12.07B in FY2024, and stockholders' equity turned negative at -$651M.
  • Persistent insider selling. Net insider selling of $757M over 24 months with 5.24M net shares disposed, though recent 2026-08-15 transactions were small board acquisitions.
  • Reimbursement and policy risk. Management cited reimbursement pressure on the Q2 2026 call; ACA enrollment attrition and dialysis reimbursement policy changes could further pressure revenue per treatment.

What would change my mind

Margin stabilization. Q3 2026 gross margin stops declining or inflects upward toward the 30%+ rangebullish
Debt reduction signal. Management announces deleveraging plan or debt paydown in upcoming quartersbullish
Further margin deterioration. Q3 2026 gross margin falls below 27% or operating margin compresses further from 14.7%bearish
Guidance cut. Management lowers full-year 2026 EPS or operating income guidancebearish

Where this comes from: technicals (as of 2026-08-19) · peer_relative · derived_metrics FY2025 · fundamentals FY2025 (period ended 2025-12-31). Orin's read on DVA; not advice.

Twelve months actual closes to 2026-09-23 · actual filings

Sept 25Nov 25Jan 26Mar 26May 26Jul 26

50-day average 200-day average · volume below

Largest holders · 13F Q2 2026

Money flow
FilerPositionOf fund
Berkshire Hathaway$6.4B2.1% of fund
Vanguard Capital Management$467.5M0.0% of fund
Morgan Stanley$356.3M0.0% of fund
Vanguard Portfolio Management$306.6M0.0% of fund
State Street$294.3M0.0% of fund
Invesco$269.6M0.0% of fund

77 filers · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows

Insiders, last 24 months: 121 Form 4 filings, net −$756.9M. Of the 50 on hand, 0 were open-market purchases and 10 sales— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.

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Where it trades

vs its own 5y · Healthcare
MetricNowOwn medianSector
P/E15.7×13.1×26.4×
EV/EBITDA7.9×9.0×
P/S0.84×0.78×

Its P/E sits above all 5 of the last 5 years (+4.48σ from its own mean).

What the price assumes

-3.4%

free-cash-flow growth every year for 10 years, discounted at 10%, is what today’s price implies — starting from $1.3B of trailing free cash flow. It is an assumption the market is making, not a forecast Orin is making.

What Wall Street published

23 firms · 2026-09-23
Consensus target

$236

$215$270 · +29% against today's price

How they rate it
  • 10 buy or overweight
  • 12 hold
  • 1 underweight or sell

The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.

Against the companies it is compared to

median P/E 24.6× of 3 peers
CompanyMarket capP/EEV/EBITDAGrossNetROE
DVADaVita Inc.$12B15.7×7.9×31.0%6.0%-124%
ALGNAlign Technology, Inc.$11B25.7×12.2×66.5%10.0%10%
HSICHenry Schein, Inc.$10B24.6×12.9×30.3%3.0%12%
UHSUniversal Health Services, Inc.$11B7.4×5.7×90.7%8.4%21%

The median is of the 3 peers listed above and nothing else — check it against the column. This company trades 35.9% below it. The peer set is the vendor’s, so a company can appear here that a person would not have chosen.

What it has traded at

P/E by fiscal year
FY14 22.2×FY25 11.7×

What its sector has traded at

Healthcare
FY14 6.5×FY26 28.6×

Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.

Discounted cash flow

not recomputed since
ModelFair valueAgainstComputed
Standard DCF$237$198.23 · +20%2026-06-10
Levered DCF$325$198.23 · +64%2026-06-10

The vendor’s intrinsic-value models. Treat them as a low-growth anchor — for a fast grower the market routinely pays well above a DCF. These were computed against the price in the “against” column, not today’s.

Every estimate on one scale

price $182.99
52-week range$101 – $247
Analyst targets$215 – $270
Standard DCF$237 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $198.23
Levered DCF$325 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $198.23
At own 5y-median P/E (13×)$152
At 5y P/E range (12–14×)$142 – $160
At sector P/E (26×)$307

The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.