24/7 Wall St. » WCG

Ohio Medicaid Losses Wreck Providers (MOH, CNC, AGP, WCG)

Administrator — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 13:58:47 +0000

Molina Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: MOH) and Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) are both seeing their shares take a real beating. On a day where most stocks are lower because of Friday’s payrolls data, this is something entirely different.

The Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services has reportedly not selected Molina’s Ohio health plan to participate in a freshly issued Ohio Medicaid Managed Care Plan Request for application. Molina’s filing disclosed the apparent contract loss and it appears as of now that the existing contract that Molina has with Ohio will expire at the end of 2012 without being renewed. Molina shares are down 22% at $27.15 against a 52-week range of $13.93 to $36.83. Centene is also listed as one of the losers here and its shares are down 12.6% at $44.41 against a 52-week range of $25.28 to $50.40.

The Wall Street Journal also noted that AMERIGROUP Corporation (NYSE: AGP) and WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) are not being awarded new contracts in Ohio but that Centene was planning an effort to appeal the decision that would impact 9% of the 1.8 million members. WellCare is down 6.6% at $69.35 against a 52-week range of $33.29 to $74.41. AMERIGROUP shares are down the least with a drop of 4.7% at $64.22 against a 52-week range of $37.57 to $75.74.

These individual state contract losses are not always set in stone due to appeals and due to lobbying efforts. That being said, you can clearly see here how state contract awards and losses allow many companies to live by the sword and die by the sword.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Accounting, Compensation, Corporate Governance, Drug companies, Healthcare, Medical, Politics Tagged: AGP, CNC, MOH, WCG

Morning Movers (TAN, SHIP, DF, VG, ZNGA, WCG)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:37:09 +0000

The three major US equities indexes opened higher this morning following an assurance from China’s central bank that it would continue to hold European sovereign debt and to participate in finding a resolution to the Eurozone’s debt crisis. Iran has said that it is stopping crude oil shipments to six European countries (our story here). In the first half hour of trading, the DJIA has turned negative, down about 12 points at around 12,867, the Nasdaq Composite is higher by about 12 points at around 2,944, and the S&P 500 is up about 3 points at around 1,354.

There are several stocks trading more heavily than usual this morning, and also experiencing large gains or drops in share prices. These include the Guggenheim Solar ETF (NYSE: TAN), Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHIP), Dean Foods Co. (NYSE: DF), Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE: VG), Znyga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA), and Wellcare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG).

The Guggenheim Solar ETF completed a 1:10 reverse split this morning, causing some issues with online finance sites. We have more coverage here.

Seanergy is up nearly 22% at $3.55. Volume is already about 10x the daily average of about 18,000 shares traded. The dry bulk shipper reported an unexpected profit this morning.

Dean Foods is up nearly 13% at $12.25. Volume is already 150% of the daily average of 1.9 million shares traded. The food and beverage company posted better-than-expected earnings this morning and offered guidance in-line with expectations.

Vonage is down more than -12% at $2.40 after posting a new 52-week low of $2.38 earlier. Volume is already approaching double the daily average of about 550,000 shares traded. The Internet phone company reported in-line fourth-quarter revenues and earning, but projected higher expenses in 2012.

Zynga is down nearly -12% at $12.65. Volume is already higher than the daily average of around 14 million shares traded. The social gaming company posted better-than-expected earnings this morning, but the forecast for the current quarter was weak and several analysts downgraded the stock.

Wellcare is up more than 11% at $70.13 after posting a new 52-week high of $71.54 earlier this morning. Volume is already double the daily average of about 510,000 shares traded. The managed care provider beat earnings expectations this morning and provided a better-than-expected forecast for 2012.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: DF, SHIP, TAN, VG, WCG, ZNGA

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AKS, AU, FTE, GGP, HON, LAZ, PNW, GOLD, TEF, TEVA, TMK, UNFI, URI, MTN, WCG)

Administrator — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:23:47 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Monday morning.

AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE: AKS) Raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (NYSE: AU) Cut to Sell from Neutral by Goldman Sachs.

France Telecom S.A. (NYSE: FTE) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
General Growth Properties Inc. (NYSE: GGP) Cut to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) Raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (NYSE: PNW) Cut to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Randgold Resources Limited (NASDAQ: GOLD) Cut to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Telefonica, S.A. (NYSE: TEF) Cut to Neutral from Overweight at HSBC.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NASDAQ: TEVA) Reiterated Buy with $52 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Torchmark Corp. (NYSE: TMK) Raised to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
United Natural Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: UNFI) Raised to Buy from Hold at Canaccord Genuity.
United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE: URI) Raised to Top Pick at RBC.
Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) named as value stock of the day at Zacks Investment Research.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AKS, AU, FTE, GGP, gold, HON, LAZ, MTN, PNW, TEF, TEVA, TMK, UNFI, URI, WCG

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ACTV, AUO, BBBB, CNK, CLWR, CLF, DFS, EK, FSL, GIS, MAS, RGC, SNDK, SBUX, UA, WCG, YNDX)

Administrator — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 12:01:10 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Tuesday morning.

The Active Network, Inc. (NYSE: ACTV) Started as Buy at BofA/ML; Started as Buy at Citigroup.
AU Optronics Corp. (NYSE: AUO) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB) dropped from Underperform at BofA/ML; Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Cinemark Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CNK) Cut to Neutral at Janney.
Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR) Raised to Outperform with $6 target at Credit Suisse.
Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF) Reinstated Buy with $118 target at BofA/ML.
Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
Freescale Semiconductor Inc. (NYSE: FSL) Started as Buy at Citigroup; Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
General Mills, Inc. (NYSE: GIS) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Masco Corporation (NYSE: MAS) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) Cut to Sell at Janney Capital.
SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) Reiterated Buy but raised target to $45 at Argus.
Under Armour, Inc. (NYSE: UA) Called out as “Overvalued” in the weekend Barron’s.
WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) called top Value at Zacks.
Yandex N. V. (NASDAQ: YNDX) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley; Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

You are invited to join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, dividend trends, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ACTV, AUO, BBBB, CLF, CLWR, CNK, DFS, EK, FSL, GIS, MAS, RGC, SBUX, SNDK, UA, WCG, YNDX

Health-Care Reform Boosts Health-Care Providers (WLP, UNH, AET, CI, CNC, AGP, WCG, MOH)

Administrator — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:22:10 +0000

While the courts and the Congress continue to fight over the health-care reform law, known as the Affordable Care Act or ACA, insurers are looking forward to as many as 16 million new customers as a result of the ACA’s provision that allows states to contract with providers to run managed-care Medicaid programs. The opportunity for insurers could total $40 billion in new business, as we have already noted.

Large insurers like Wellpoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP), UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH), Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET), and Cigna Corp. (NYSE: CI) are in hot pursuit of opportunities to offer management services to state-run Medicaid programs, in the belief that a slew of new customers will more than offset any losses attributable to the ACA. Politicians continue to squabble over ideology, with the conservatives seeking to kill the ACA and liberals wanting to maintain it.

The insurance companies know what they want. Wellpoint posted EPS of $6.94 in 2010 and has reiterated its guidance for EPS of “at least” $6.30 in 2011. The company has also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25, beginning with the current quarter, and has announced that it will buy back some $1.6 billion in shares by the end of 2011.

Wellpoint is the largest provider in the managed-Medicaid market, and by virtue of its size will be a formidable competitor to the other leading managed-Medicaid providers. Other leading managed-Medicaid providers include Centene Corp. (NYSE: CNC), Amerigroup Corp. (NYSE: AGP), WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG), and Molina Heathcare Inc. (NYSE: MOH). None of these has a market cap of more than about $2.5 billion, about a tenth the size of Wellpoint.

Of the large providers, Aetna has forecast 2011 operating profit of $3.70-$3.80/share, compared with $3.68 in 2010. The company, like Wellpoint, UnitedHealth, and Cigna, experienced lower health care use in 2010. That is surely the result of higher premiums, higher deductibles, and fewer visits to the doctor from those insured.

Six states already have a requirement that Medicaid patients enroll in managed care plans, and another ten have similar programs under consideration. Under the managed care plans, Medicaid payments will go to the plan administrators, not directly to doctors, hospitals, and nursing homes as is currently the case in most states. In a managed care system, the states pay a fixed amount to the insurer for each Medicaid patient. Then its up to the insurer to manage costs.

The argument against the managed care plans is that because the goal is to keep costs down, patients have difficulty getting the care they need.

The vast new market open to insurers by way of managed Medicaid plans is likely to be the driver of insurers’ profits through 2014. Higher premiums, higher deductibles, and lower health care use will also contribute to insurers growth, at least for the next year or two. But if the ACA is not repealed or starved financially, premiums should start to moderate, deductibles should get smaller, and patients should begin consulting their doctors again, without driving government costs through the roof.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Earnings, Healthcare Tagged: AET, AGP, CI, CNC, MOH, UNH, WCG, WLP

Top Day Trader Alerts (ELRN, EXEL, LIFE, THQI, KG, BPSG, WCG, VPHM)

247wallst — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:09:02 +0000

The following are some of the top stocks to watch for active trading today based on pre-market and after-hours volume activity. There are links through to more detailed coverage and volume analysis at VSInvestor.com:

Elron Electronic Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: ELRN) is among the top Nasdsaq gainers on strong volume, after one of its key product received a formal FDA clearance.

Exelixis Inc. (Nasdaq: EXEL) is rallying in the premarket on no news, perhaps hops of a deal coming its way.

Life Technologies Corp. (Nasdaq: LIFE) is rising in the premarket following a large EPS beat.

THQ Inc. (Nasdaq: THQI) is down in active trade following weak revenue guidance.

King Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE: KG) is lower in active premarket trading after the FDA is requiring more study of its Corvue candidate.

Broadpoint Gleacher Securities Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: BPSG) shares are trading lower following a stock offering.

Wellcare Health Plans Inc. (NYSE: WCG) is seeing a large percentage move higher following earnings.

ViroPharma Inc. (Nasdaq: VHPH) shares are up following an earnings beat.

ARM Holdings plc (Nasdaq: ARMH) shares are trading lower on active volume on a revenue shortfall.

-The 24/7 Wall St. Team

Posted in Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: BPSG, ELRN, EXEL, KG, LIFE, THQI, VPHM, WCG

The 52-Week Low Club (C)(CROX)(MSFT)(INTC)(WCG)(GE)

247wallst — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:00:33 +0000

GE (GE) Concerns about dividend and financial services arm. Drops to $14.58 from 52-week high of $39.95.

Citigroup (C) Huge consumer lending portfolio becomes more of a time bomb. Drops to $8.27 from 52-week high of $37.50.

Crocs (CROX) Tremendously bad earnings. Falls to $.79 from 52-week high of $46.80.

Microsoft (MSFT) Signs of tech slowdown are everywhere. Drops to $18.74 from 52-week high of $36.72.

Intel (INTC) Cuts profit forecast. Sells off to $12.87 from 52-week high of $27.99.

Wellcare Health (WCG) Higher than expected medical costs. Down from $6.12 from 52-week high of $58.73.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted in HI/LOW Tagged: C, CROX, GE, INTC, MSFT, WCG

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (AAUK, ACI, BBT, CETV, FCL, JKHY, MEE, WCG)

247wallst — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 06:36:00 +0000

These are some of the top upgrades or positive calls we are seeing from analysts this Thursday morning:

Anglo American (AAUK) Raised to Strong Buy at S&P (late Weds. call).
Arch Coal (ACI) Raised to Buy at UBS.
BB&T Corp. (BBT) Raised to Buy at S&P.
Central European Media (CETV) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Foundation Coal (FCL) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Jack Henry (JKHY) Cut to Hold at Needham; Cut to Neutral at D.A. Davidson.
Massee Energy (MEE) Raised to Buy at UBS.
WellCare Group (WCG) Started as Buy at B of A.

Jon C. Ogg
August 21, 2008

NYSE Delisting Candidates, Headed To The Pink Sheets?

247wallst — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:10:02 +0000

With the sudden delisting of the Journal Register, it is interesting to look at who else is on the NYSE list of companies who could get delisted. The NYSE is generally very good about this and lets the companies have time to get into compliance. Below are the lists. They are grouped based on why the NYSE has problems with them.

Issuers that are noncompliant with its quantitative and corporate governance listing standards:

Fremont General Corporation (FMT)

Fremont General Financing I (FMTPR)

Impac Mortgage Holdings, Inc. (IMH)

Impac Mortgage Holdings, Inc. (IMHPRB)

Impac Mortgage Holdings, Inc. (IMHPRC)

Journal Register Co. (JRC)

Luminent Mortgage Capital, Inc. (LUM)

Medifast, Inc. (MED)

Milacron Inc. (MZ)

NIS GROUP CO., LTD. (NIS)

Scottish Re Group Limited (SCT)

Scottish Re Group Limited (SCTPRB)

Sun-Times Media Group, Inc. (SVN)

Zarlink Semiconductor, Inc. (ZL)

Companies as delayed in filing both Annual and Interim Reports:

Beazer Homes USA, Inc. (BZH)
Diebold, Incorporated (DBD)
International Rectifier Corporation (IRF)
Penn Treat American Corporation. (PTA)

Sunrise Senior Living, Inc. (SRZ)
Symmetry Medical Inc. (SMA)
VeriFone Holdings, Inc. (PAY)
W Holding Company, Inc. (WHI)
WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (WCG)

Companies as delayed in filing an Annual Report:

China Yuchai International Limited (CYD)
Fremont General Corporation. (FMT)
Fremont General Financing I (FMTPR)
Impac Mortgage Holdings, Inc. (IMH)
Impac Mortgage Holdings, Inc. (IMHPRB)
Impac Mortgage Holdings, Inc. (IMHPRC)
Mesa Royalty Trust (MTR)
Schawk, Inc. (SGK)

Some firms make it on to more than one list, and some, like JRC and FMT, have already left for the "pink sheets"

Douglas A. McIntyre

Pre-Market Analyst Calls (November 5, 2007)

247wallst — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 07:46:03 +0000

ACA cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
ACW raised to Neutral at UBS.
AMSC started as Buy at Jefferies.
ATPG cut to Underperform at RBC.
BSC cut to Equal Weight at Lehman.
BSY cut to Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
CNP raised to Buy at Jefferies.
CPT cut to Neutral at B of A.
DRE cut to Neutral at UBS.
FSLR started as Sector Perform at CIBC.
GLF raised to Buy at Jefferies.
GNA raised to Outperform at CIBC.
HD cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
LLY cut to Underweight at HSBC.
LOW cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
MER cut to Equal Weight at Lehman.
NLC raised to Neutral at UBS.
PDGI raised to BUy at Jefferies.
PVTB raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
TUES raised to Outperform at Piper Jaffray.
WCG raised to Buy at Jefferies.
WST raised to Buy at UBS.

Jon C. Ogg
November 5, 2007