Rite Aid Stock Is Soaring. The Outlook Impresses Investors.

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Rite Aid’s stock surged after the drugstore chain said it expects to lose less money in the current fiscal year than anticipated. The news overshadowed a bigger-than-expected loss for the latest quarter.

Rite Aid

stock (ticker: RAD) was up 10.4% to $8.27 on Thursday. The stock has declined more than 43% year to date.

The drugstore operator said it expects an adjusted net loss for the year ending March 4, 2023, of between 53 cents and $1.06 per share, substantially less than the consensus call of $1.22 per share in loss indicated by a FactSet survey of analysts. Revenue for the full year will be between $23.1 billion and $23.5 billion, higher than analysts’ prediction of $21.41 billion.

Rite Aid said revenue from its retail pharmacy segment will contribute up to $18 billion and the pharmacy services operation will bring in up to $5.5 billion during the fiscal year.

In its fourth quarter, which ended in February, the pharmacy chain posted an adjusted loss of $1.63 a share, wider than analysts’ estimates of a loss of 49 cents a share. Revenue from continuing operations totaled $6.07 billion, higher than the consensus call on Wall Street for revenue of $5.47 billion.

“We exceeded our 2022 plan amid continuing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said CEO Heyward Donigan. “As we look forward to the year ahead, we are ready and energized to compete in a new post-pandemic normal,”

Write to Karishma Vanjani at karishma.vanjani@dowjones.com