Flu Activity Continues to Rise, Related Prescriptions Up 12% from Last Week; Watch CVS, Walgreen

Lazard Capital Market's Tom Galluci issued an update on flu activity Monday morning following a note from December 17th which suggested CVS

and Walgreen

could benefit from increased cases of the virus. The analyst said flu activity was up 12 percent from last week and up a very concerning 94 percent from the same week last year. Prescriptions for cold, cough and/or flu drugs has surged 61 percent from December 2011. Galluci believes this increase in activity is likely to have a greater effect on hospital volume metrics rather than earnings as a lower-margin business. Lazard maintains a Buy rating on CVS and a Neutral rating on Walgreen shares.