Cardinal Health Stock Outlook: Is Wall Street Bullish or Bearish?
Company Overview and Stock Performance: Cardinal Health, Inc. is a major healthcare services provider with a market cap of $35.5 billion, experiencing a 51.2% stock increase over the past year and a strong fiscal Q3 performance, raising its EPS guidance to $8.05–$8.16.
Analyst Ratings and Future Outlook: The consensus rating for CAH stock is a "Strong Buy," with Morgan Stanley raising its price target from $142 to $166, indicating potential upside, while analysts project a 7.8% earnings growth year-over-year for the current fiscal year.
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- Bitcoin Trust Filing: Morgan Stanley has filed an S-1 with the SEC to launch the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust, a spot ETF that will directly hold Bitcoin, marking a significant expansion in its crypto footprint and likely attracting more institutional investors.
- Custody Arrangements: The fund plans to use Coinbase and Bank of New York Mellon as Bitcoin custodians, with most assets stored in offline cold storage to ensure security, while some BTC may temporarily move into trading wallets during share creations and redemptions to enhance liquidity.
- Market Tracking Mechanism: The ETF will passively track Bitcoin's price using the CoinDesk Bitcoin Benchmark 4PM New York Settlement Rate, ensuring that investors can accurately reflect market dynamics, which is expected to bolster investor confidence.
- Digital Asset Strategy Expansion: At the Strategy World 2026 event, Morgan Stanley revealed broader ambitions in digital assets, including native custody, exchange solutions, and lending services, demonstrating its long-term commitment to the crypto space and addressing client demand for institutional-grade solutions.
- Government and Corporate Relations: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated at the Morgan Stanley conference that the government should be more powerful than private companies, emphasizing the responsibility of businesses in the democratic process, which could impact corporate-government collaborations.
- Anthropic's Challenges: Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei criticized Altman's relationship with the Trump administration, noting that the company has not given 'dictator-style praise' to Trump, which may affect its reputation and partnership opportunities in the industry.
- Tensions with the Department of Defense: The Defense Secretary labeled Anthropic as a 'Supply-Chain Risk to National Security' and directed all federal agencies to cease using its technology, potentially leading to a decline in its market share.
- Rapid Growth of OpenAI: OpenAI recently announced a $110 billion funding round at a $730 billion valuation, with an annual revenue run rate of $25 billion, showcasing its ability to expand rapidly in a highly competitive market.
- Bitcoin ETF Filing: On March 4, Morgan Stanley filed an amended Bitcoin ETF application with the SEC, naming Coinbase Custody and Bank of New York Mellon as custody partners, indicating aggressive expansion in the crypto space, with the Trust passively tracking Bitcoin's price to avoid speculation.
- Loan Agreement Details: Morgan Stanley provided Core Scientific with a $500 million loan facility, which can be extended to $1 billion, with an interest rate of SOFR plus 250 basis points, aimed at funding real property acquisitions and energy contracts, thereby enhancing the company's financial flexibility.
- Strategic Shift: Core Scientific is pivoting from Bitcoin mining to high-density colocation services for AI clients, expecting to monetize most of its Bitcoin reserves by 2026 to support this transition, currently holding 2,537 BTC valued at $222 million.
- Market Outlook: In January, Core Scientific sold over 1,900 BTC for approximately $175 million, leaving around 630 BTC, with the CEO stating that Bitcoin mining is now in a “runoff” phase, primarily maintaining operations to meet minimum power commitments while focusing on AI-related business.
- New ETF Launch: Morgan Stanley Investment Management has launched the Eaton Vance Preferred Securities and Income ETF (NASDAQ:EVPF), marking the 19th ETF strategy introduced in 2023, aimed at providing current income and total return, thereby expanding the investment options available on its ETF platform.
- Active Management Strategy: EVPF employs a flexible, actively managed investment approach focused on preferred securities, seeking to deliver attractive after-tax yields relative to traditional fixed income through a research-driven process that enhances portfolio diversification and income potential.
- Transparent Fee Structure: The ETF features a gross expense ratio of 0.39% and a net expense ratio of 0.20%, with the adviser voluntarily agreeing to temporarily waive a portion of its management fee until June 30, 2026, ensuring that the fund's total annual operating expenses do not exceed 0.20%, thus enhancing investor returns.
- Optimistic Market Outlook: The management team maintains a constructive outlook for the preferred securities asset class, citing the economic backdrop, moderating inflation, and anticipated gradual Fed easing as key factors to watch, which are expected to create tax-advantaged income-generating opportunities for investors.

Launch of New Investment Management Strategy: Morgan Stanley Investment Management has introduced a new strategy focused on preferred securities and income generation.
Target Audience: The new strategy is designed to cater to investors seeking stable income through preferred securities, which are hybrid financial instruments.
- Job Cuts: Morgan Stanley is eliminating approximately 3% of its global workforce, equating to about 2,500 positions across its main business units, reflecting shifts in business priorities and geographic adjustments.
- Financial Performance: Despite the layoffs, Morgan Stanley's shares have risen about 38% over the past year, and the firm reported record annual revenue in 2025, indicating strong performance in investment banking and wealth management.
- Industry Context: The layoffs align with a broader trend of white-collar job cuts across corporate America, as many firms cite productivity gains from artificial intelligence as a reason for workforce reductions, highlighting a focus on cost control within the industry.
- Wealth Management Impact: The cuts within the wealth management unit include private bankers and operational roles, even as this division reported a 13% revenue increase in Q4, suggesting a need to optimize human resources in response to market dynamics.









