UnitedHealth initiated with an Outperform at Baird

Baird initiated coverage of UnitedHealth with an Outperform rating and $597 price target. The firm started coverage on nine Managed Care companies with six having Outperform ratings and three having Neutral ratings. Baird believes Managed Care is structurally well positioned to drive sustainably attractive long-term growth, margin expansion and multiple expansion beyond historical levels, despite recent volatility in Medicare Advantage that may continue to keep Medicare Advantage multiples depressed over the coming year, the analyst tells investors.