UnitedHealth shares are well-positioned to have a strong 2023, according to Raymond James. Analyst John Ransom upgraded shares of UnitedHealth to strong buy from outperform. He also raised his price target to $630 from $615, which implies 27.7% upside from Tuesday’s close price. The analyst said he is more constructive on the Dow Jones Industrial Average component after its year-to-date underperformance. UnitedHealth shares are down 7% in 2023, lagging the S & P 500’s 6.8% advance. “In short, we believe the ‘set-up’ has improved markedly with the valuation reset amid the improving regulatory backdrop.” UNH YTD mountain UNH in 2023 Ransom said that many of the policy overhangs on UnitedHealth, which accounted for his previous downgrade in December, are now past the company. He added that changes made to Medicare Advantage payments, which UnitedHealth previously said would create headwinds for its Optum Health division, included more improvements in the final notice and allowed health care companies to phase changes over the course of three years. Raymond James sees these measures as “a win for the industry as it buffers the initial impact and buys time for behavior changes. “We think the [Medicare Advantage] final rate notice is a clearing event for the MA providers,” Ransom wrote. Furthermore, the analyst noted that the company’s price-to-earnings multiples have contracted significantly. “We think that the stocks are likely de-risked at current levels and present attractive entry points for defensive stocks with double-digits [long-term] earnings growth algos,” said Ransom. —CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
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