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I thought of veterinary companies supplier CVS Group (LSE:CVSG) to be a white-hot progress share after I invested again in 2020. Nevertheless, information of an industry-wide evaluation by the competitors watchdog prompted me to promote up before I’d hoped.
I didn’t recognize the specter of a sector shake-up and what this might imply for earnings. I wasn’t alone, and offered my holdings in September 2023 because the CVS share worth crashed.
I’m happy I offered after I did, given the size of the share worth fall. At £14.28 per share at the moment, CVS shares stay nicely beneath the £17.09 that I offered out at.
However the healthcare group has risen strongly in 2025, up 74% within the 12 months thus far. It’s risen an additional 2% at the moment (15 October) after the Competitors and Markets Authority (CMA) revealed provisional findings that had been much less damning than the {industry} had feared.
Can CVS shares proceed climbing following the information? And may I take into account re-adding this touted progress inventory to my portfolio?
What has the CMA mentioned?
The CMA launched its investigation over fears over pricing and transparency within the animalcare market.
To treatment a system it’s deemed “not match for objective“, the watchdog has proposed 21 provisional adjustments. These embody requiring vets to publish complete tariffs, making it easier for shoppers to buy medicines on-line, capping prescription costs, and requiring practices to state if they’re half of a bigger group.
Such adjustments would signify the most important overhaul of the {industry} thus far. But they’re not as dangerous because the {industry} had feared, prompting CVS’s and Pets at Residence‘s share costs to rise.
Analyst Charles Weston of RBC Capital notes that “there continues to be no enforced asset divestment, and a continued choice to deal with improved transparency in an effort to construct a extra aggressive market for veterinary prescription drugs, reasonably than any main deal with pricing controls“.
Is CVS a purchase?
CVS itself mentioned it welcomed “the extra certainty that this morning’s announcement brings“, noting that the 21 urged reforms are seven beneath what was proposed within the spring.
Veterinary practitioners aren’t out of the woods simply but. The CMA’s closing report isn’t due till March. Nevertheless, substantial adjustments from what was touted at the moment are extremely unlikely.
So are CVS shares now a purchase for progress traders? Because the desk exhibits, Metropolis brokers count on earnings to rise quickly:
| Monetary 12 months to June | Anticipated earnings per share (EPS) | Annual progress |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 89.67p | 12% |
| 2027 | 97.57p | 9% |
| 2028 | 107.15p | 10% |
Forecasts are supported by indicators the CMA won’t impose worth controls that crush margins. In addition they mirror the spectacular progress CVS is making in Australia the place speedy growth is continuous.
That mentioned, the agency faces signficant hurdles which will threaten these forecasts and weigh on its share worth.
There’s nonetheless some uncertainty over the watchdog’s closing findings, which deserves consideration. CVS additionally faces sustained gross sales stress in its core UK market because the cost-of-living disaster endures, and particularly for its front-of-store merchandise.
I’m additionally conscious of the agency’s progress prospects additional out as labour prices steadily climb. And whereas the CMA’s suggestions might have been worse, it nonetheless probably limits the corporate’s growth alternatives at residence.
At present’s information offers CVS with a fine addition. However on stability, I’d nonetheless reasonably discover different progress shares to purchase.

