Jefferies & Company Healthcare Update (SKH, AMED, GTIV, AFAM, LHCG)

Jefferies & Co. cited fears of the European economic fallout for last week's sell off in healthcare stocks and said that valuations in defensive equities like Skilled Healthcare Group SKH, Amedisys AMED, and Gentiva Health Services GTIV look "increasingly compelling." In addition to AMED and GTIV, Jefferies said that they like Almost Family AFAM and LHC Group LHCG, despite last week's sharp sell off in the names. One of their favorite larger cap names is Express Scripts ESRX, which the firm said was one of their top 5 picks this week. There top pick for the week is SKH, which has jumped 1.76% to $7.52 during today's trading session.