Argus Upgrades UnitedHealth On Q2 Strength: On Road To Greater Profitability

On Tuesday, UnitedHealth Group Inc UNH reported Q2 earnings that beat estimates and sent shares higher. The company reported Q2 earnings per share of 1.96 vs $1.89 estimates and revenues of $46.5 billion vs. $45.1 billion estimates.

Following the earnings beat, Argus upgraded UnitedHealth from Hold to Buy with a $170.00 price target.

Exiting ACA Markets Increasing Profitability

Argus applauded the company's initiative to increase profitability by exiting failed business.

"We think that United Health's decision to exit most of the ACA public exchange markets in 2017 will limit its exposure to unprofitable business and lead to stronger EPS growth in 2017," stated the Argus analyst.

Optum Business Showing Strength

Unitedhealth's Optum product, a health services platform, also was praised by Argus: "We also have a favorable view of the company's Optum businesses, which are growing faster and generating higher margins than its insurance division."

At time of writing, UnitedHealth traded at $143.30, up 0.30 percent Friday.