Why Walgreens Shares Are Rising Wednesday: 'This Stock Should Be Bought, Perhaps Aggressively'

Shares of pharmacy giant Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA are moving higher Wednesday after the company appointed a new CEO.

What Happened: Walgreens appointed Tim Wentworth as CEO, effective Oct. 23. Wentworth is also set to join the company's board. 

Wentworth previously served as CEO of several health-related companies including Evernorth, Express Scripts and Accredo. 

"We are confident he is the right person to lead WBA's next phase of growth into a customer-centric healthcare company," said Stefano Pessina, executive chairman of Walgreens.

Wednesday morning on CNBC's "Squawk On The Street," Jim Cramer suggested Wentworth could change the direction of the stock. 

"He is a no-nonsense guy that can really generate tremendous returns ... if you close the underperforming stores, get rid of the stores that have bad shrinkage and you up the healthcare, you will have a stock that is dirt cheap," Cramer said. 

"This guy is the real deal. I just salute him and think he can take you to a higher price. This stock should be bought, perhaps aggressively."

Walgreens is set to report fiscal fourth-quarter results before the market opens on Thursday. The company is expected to deliver earnings of 89 cents per share and revenue of $34.82 billion, according to estimates from Benzinga Pro.

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WBA Price Action: Walgreens shares were up 1.74% at $22.77 at the time of publication, per Benzinga Pro.

Photo: courtesy of Walgreens.