Jefferies Has Notes On United Health (UNH)

Jefferies & Co. has some notes on UnitedHealth Group Inc. UNH, which it has a Hold rating and a $40 price target on. In a note sent to investors, Jefferies writes, "We believe the consensus has moved toward an expectation of both federal and state taxes as well as regulatory fees to be excludable from premiums in calculating the MLR. We also anticipate expenses focused on improving the quality of healthcare delivery will be allowable as medical expense. Federal taxes are the biggest swing factor. Any deviation from this framework would likely be a disappointment to the markets resulting in downward pressure on the sector. The magnitude of effect from most affected to least would be WLP (Buy, $57.85), UNH (Hold, $36.34), AET (Hold, $30.46), HUM (Hold, $56.07) and CI (Buy, $37.11)." Shares of UNH gained 37 cents on Friday to close at $36.00, a gain of 1%.