UPDATE: Piper Jaffray Initiates Coverage on UnitedHealth Group with Overweight Rating, $121 PT as Big Data Meets Big Healthcare

In a report published Tuesday, Piper Jaffray analyst Sean W. Wieland initiated coverage on

with an Overweight rating and $121.00 price target. In the report, Piper Jaffray noted, “UnitedHealth Group has built an information advantage in healthcare derived from its advanced data capabilities garnered from Optum. An information advantage enables the company to more accurately price risk, optimize provider networks, deliver transparency on price and quality, and drive behavior change across its member base. We believe this information advantage, combined with the company's massive scale and local presence, will deliver lower medical cost inflation and greater market share across each business line relative to its peers. Therefore, we are initiating with an Overweight rating and $121 price target.” UnitedHealth Group closed on Monday at $85.09.