UPDATE: Bank of America Merrill Lynch Lowers PO on Universal American to $12

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is out with its report today on Universal American

, lowering its PO to $12 In its report, Bank of America Merrill Lynch writes, "Overall, we continue to believe UAM could fare well through the 2012 presidential election cycle with the federal government reluctant to implement regulations that negatively impact seniors, who are a powerful voting constituency. Longer term, UAM does not appear as well positioned to handle rate cuts in health care reform legislation, because it covers more PFFS members that experience higher cost trends. Our $12 PO assumes an 11x P/E on our 2012 EPS estimate of $0.55 plus excess capital. M&A (we estimate a 20% probability at $15) is potential upside." Bank of America Merrill Lynch maintains Neutral on UAM. At the time of posting, shares of UAM were trading at $11.00, down 1.35% from Monday's close.