Benzinga | May 26, 2021 04:28PM EDT

CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid Shares Fall On Report Of Potential Amazon Entry Into Retail Pharmacy

CVS (NYSE:CVS), Walgreens (NASDAQ:WBA) and Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD) shares lost ground Wednesday after a Business Insider report that Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is considering entering the physical pharmacy retail space.

The story's three unnamed sources, who were not authorized to speak to the press, said there is no concrete plan, but rather exploratory discussions are taking place.

Why It Matters: Speculation regarding Amazon's pharmacy venture, which launched in November, has impacted the stock of potential competitors.

CVS, Walgreens and Rite-Aid are the biggest in the industry, with thousands of stores each, and the chains have already seen an impact from Amazon in the form of consumers buying front-of-store items online.

What Could Come Next: Amazon's investment into grocery services and its newer Amazon Pharmacy venture has made it clear that the company has strong potential to develop its own play in the retail pharmacy market.

The U.S. prescription drug market is valued at about $370 billion. Whether Amazon opens standalone retail pharmacies or incorporates pharmacies into Whole Foods stores, the company stands to acquire a fair share of the industry, according to one of Business Insider's unnamed sources.