UnitedHealth "outperform"

18.04.06 - Bear Stearns

NEW YORK, April 18 (newratings.com) - Analyst John Rex of Bear Stearns maintains his "outperform" rating on UnitedHealth Group (UNH). The target price is set to $72.

In a research note published yesterday, the analyst mentions that the company is likely to maintain its leading position in Medicare Part D and achieve 790,000 organic member adds in the current quarter. UnitedHealth?s MCR is likely to have deteriorated by 180 bps q/q in 1Q, primarily on account of the Medicare and PacifiCare businesses, the analyst says. The company is likely to post healthy cash flows for 1Q06, when it reports its results on April 18, Bear Stearns adds.