UPDATE: Sterne Agee Initiates Coverage On Aetna On Less Earnings Power Upside Potential

In a report published Friday, Sterne Agee analyst Brian Wright initiated coverage on

with a Neutral rating and $87.00 price target. In the report, Sterne Agee noted, “Aetna is executing supremely well in a challenging environment. However, we see less earnings power upside potential without acquisitions from here given current excellent execution. This isn't the first time AET has been able to out-execute peers in a challenging commercial margin environment, as AET was also successful in 2008 during the last cycle downturn. The last time we saw significant margin pressures among the publicly traded health plans in 2008, AET was able to deliver 13% EPS growth, though the following year proved more challenging.” Aetna closed on Thursday at $82.05.