Bernstein analyst Lance Wilkes lowered the firm’s price target on Humana to $579 from $599 and keeps a Market Perform rating on the shares. The analyst updated outlooks in healthcare services to reflect a positive view on managed care originations based on modestly improved forward-looking fundamentals, reduced expectations, and lower valuations. The firm is more cautious on hospitals given volume challenges and have an improved outlook on pharmacy benefit managers, but haven’t changed its overall stance on either given current valuations. Investors are staying on the sidelines in advance of the 2024 election, which presents an opportunity, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Bernstein sees relative valuations for MCOs being attractive and likely to expand during 2024. Its top picks are Elevance Health (ELV), Centene (CNC) and UnitedHealth (UNH).
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