What happened
Shares of Evolent Health (EVH -0.37%) were up 7.6% at 1:12 p.m. EDT on Friday following the release of first-quarter results after the closing bell on Thursday. The healthcare company, which provides clinical and administrative solutions to health insurers and other payers, basically met its revenue goal for the quarter and kept its 2020 revenue guidance the same. But in this market, that's quite the achievement, and investors are valuing the company accordingly.
So what
Evolent Health was able to increase revenue by 25% year over year to $247.3 million in the first quarter. The company added two new health plans to its list of customers: EmblemHealth and an unnamed regional not-for-profit plan based in the Northeast.
COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, doesn't seem to be hurting the company. In fact, Evolent Health is assisting in the response by helping its customers identify members at high risk if they were infected and sending them information to limit the effects of the virus, hopefully saving lives (and money for its customers) in the process.
Evolent Health is still losing money: $77.8 million in the first quarter, which was larger than the $46.7 million loss in the year-ago quarter. But with the revenue growth this year, management thinks it can be cash flow positive by this fall.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
For the year, management is still guiding for revenue of $935 million to $985 million with revenue in the second quarter expected to be in the $236 million to $247 million range. Again, that's nothing to be too excited about growth-wise. But considering that on Thursday, shares were down 23% year to date -- and trading at less than half the 52-week high -- it's understandable that investors are buying shares today in a company that appears to have been knocked down for no good reason.
