UPDATE: Lazard Downgrades Cardinal Health as AmerisourceBergen Wins Partnership with Walgreens

Lazard Capital's Thomas Gallucci downgraded shares of Cardinal Health

from Buy to Neutral Tuesday morning. The analyst also suspended his $51 price target. The analyst noted a generally accepted assumption Cardinal Health would renew its contract with Walgreen or Walgreen would "move to shift its distribution needs in-house." The loss of business to AmerisourceBergen, however, was largely not expected and "inconsistent with" Lazard's investment thesis on Cardinal. Gallucci noted the Walgreen deal potentially represented $20B+ in sales and around 7.5 percent of Cardinal Health's earnings. Amid the concerning comments, Gallucci said losing the Walgreen deal could "free up significant working capital at Cardinal Health...", potentially triggering a new buyback plan. Shares of Cardinal Health are down about 7 percent to $42.89 at last check. Volume is extremely heavy this afternoon.