What happened

Shares of telehealth specialist Teladoc Health (TDOC -0.07%) jumped on Friday, rising as much as 6.7%. But as of 12:10 p.m. ET today, the stock was up 3.3%.

The stock's gain was likely due to an analyst's move to start coverage on the stock with a buy rating and a price target well above where shares of the growth stock are trading today.

A person talking with a doctor on a laptop.

Image source: Getty Images.

So what

Goldman Sachs analyst Cindy Motz thinks Teladoc is well positioned for the ongoing digitalization of healthcare. Following the stock's severe beating over the past 12 months (shares are down more than 70% over this period), she thinks shares have become compelling. Motz has a $121 12-month price target on the stock, representing nearly 60% upside from where the stock is trading at the time of this writing.

Now what

The analyst's bullish note comes ahead of Teladoc's fourth-quarter earnings report later this month. It is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter results after market close on Tuesday, Feb. 22. 

For its fourth quarter, management guided for revenue to be between $536 million and $546 million, up from $316 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. The company also said it expects 3.9 million to 4.9 million visits during the period. This compares to 3.9 million visits in the third quarter of 2021 and 3 million visits in the year-ago period. Teladoc also guided for fourth-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization to be between a loss of $3 million and a loss of $8 million.