UnitedHealth Group’s (UNH) fourth quarter earnings of 81 cents per share were well ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 73 cents. Results were also ahead of the prior-year period’s earnings of 60 cents. The better-than-expected results reflected strong contributions from the health services businesses and the public and senior health benefits program.

For the full year, revenue rose to $87.14 billion from $81.19 billion in the prior year. Earnings per share came in at $3.24, ahead of the management’s guidance of $3.15.

Total revenues during the quarter increased 6.5% year-over-year to $21.8 billion. The increase was primarily driven by an increase in premium revenues in the Health Care Services segment due to strong organic growth in risk-based offerings in public and senior markets businesses and premium rate increases in response to growth in underlying medical costs.

Medical costs during the quarter increased 6.8% year-over-year to due to a growth in public

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Humana Inc. (HUM) recently entered into a long-term agreement with New West Physicians, a primary-care group practice in the Denver area with approximately 250,000 patients. The deal will see New West Physicians provide health care services to individuals and families enrolled in a commercial health plan with Humana. The financial conditions of the transaction were not disclosed.

The contract will allow the enrollees of Humana commercial health plans access to New West Physicians’ 13 office locations, 49 physicians and 12 nurse practitioners. The deal is applicable only to Humana commercial policy members. The benefits cannot be availed by Medicare Advantage members.

We believe that this move by the company will provide its commercial health plan members with increased access to healthcare related facilities which will enable them to monitor their health in a better manner. The new facilities for the members will encourage non-members to undertake Humana memberships. The increased membership

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – December 4, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Humana Inc. (HUM), CVS Caremark (CVS), Aetna Inc. (AET), CIGNA Corp. (CI) and UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (UNH).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

Good News for Humana Members

Recently, Humana Inc. (HUM) announced that it will collaborate with MinuteClinic, the retail health care division of CVS Caremark (CVS), which has been an in-network provider for Humana since 2006, on activities aimed at expanding access to convenient

...

Recently, Humana Inc. (HUM) announced that it will collaborate with MinuteClinic, the retail health care division of CVS Caremark (CVS), which has been an in-network provider for Humana since 2006, on activities aimed at expanding access to convenient health care services for Humana-members. The agreement will result in increased focus on the management of routine illnesses, identifying and managing care related deficiencies, and making screenings available to identify risk factors resulting in chronic illnesses. The agreement will see the Louisville-based Humana open a health clinic for its employees and dependents in downtown Louisville in 2010. It will be jointly operated by MinuteClinic and Humana’s subsidiary LifeSynch. Furthermore, the Humana-subsidiary will also join forces with MinuteClinic to provide Humana-members access to health screenings and illness management at about 500 MinuteClinic locations across the United States . As per the agreement, the members of the health insurer ...

Dr Stock Pick HOT News & Alerts!

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FREE Daily Stock Alerts From DrStockPick.com

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Friday October 2, 2009

DrStockPick.com Stock Report!

IMCI, GRMN, AQNM, CVS, CSRH, LVLT, CVAT, LMT

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IMCI, Infinite Group Inc., IMCI.OB

IMCI is a world-class IT services and solutions provider serving a range of government and commercial organizations. Headquartered in Pittsford, New York, with offices in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and Colorado Springs, Colorado, IMCI is focused on the following, interconnected practice areas: IT Infrastructure Services, Virtualization and Consolidation, Cloud Computing, Project and Program Management, and Business and Technology Integration. IMCI is dedicated to the alignment of business and technology initiatives, and the delivery of superior results.

Donald W. Upson has joined the

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Why Most Investment Systems Simply Won’t Work

by Alexander Green, Advisory Panelist Wednesday, August 12, 2009: Issue #1064

Early in my 16-year career on Wall Street, I made an astonishing discovery: The overwhelming majority of my colleagues – bright, educated, experienced, and articulate – didn’t have the foggiest idea what they were talking about.

This only became obvious in retrospect, when I saw how their carefully constructed financial theories and investment forecasts turned to dust rather than generating any significant profits.

(You’d be surprised to learn, for example, how many investment “pros” lose a substantial percentage of their own money in the market each year.)

The truth is that there are virtually limitless ways to take a beating in stocks – and only a few methods that work well over time. These methods are generally codified into widely accepted investment principles,

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BlackRock's veteran CIO believes this rally can last. But he warns that growth will likely be slow, with some sectors doing better than others.

 

Bob Doll has been chief investment officer of global equities at BlackRock Inc. since 2006. Before that he served in several portfolio management and executive investment positions with Merrill Lynch. Starting in 1999, he became chief investment officer of equities at Merrill Lynch Investment Management Americas. He later was promoted to co-head of that unit and senior vice president at Merrill Lynch. 

During a recent pause in market activity, IndexUniverse.com's Murray Coleman talked to the BlackRock CIO about his take on various sectors and asset classes.  

 

IU.com: Do you think this rally has legs?

Doll: Yes, over time. But it's not going to follow a one-way path heading straight up. There will be some rallies followed by some pullbacks—a lot of volatility still remains in

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NeoGenomics, Inc. is a high-complexity CLIA-certified clinical laboratory that specializes in cancer genetics diagnostic testing, the fastest growing segment of the laboratory industry. With headquarters in Fort Myers, FL, NeoGenomics is leaving its mark across the US with labs in Nashville, TN, Irvine, CA and Fort Myers. The company has a broad array of interest because it services the needs of pathologists, oncologists, urologists, and hospitals throughout the United States.

NeoGenomics announced yesterday that Douglas M. VanOort has joined the Company’s Board of Directors and has been appointed Executive Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer.

VanOort has held executive leadership positions with several world-class Fortune 500 firms and rapidly-growing ventures during his 30-year career. He spent over 10 years in health-care services, first as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Corning Life Sciences, Inc. and then as Senior Vice President, Operations at Quest Diagnostics, Inc. At Corning Life

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Let me be clear: I was not arguing in my last blog that the Benjamin Graham ETN is the best total market ETF/ETN on the market today.

Far from it. As I’ve written before, celebrity branding makes me very nervous. The Ben Graham ETN is not a true total market fund. It takes huge risks and bets against a true market portfolio, with a non-transparent methodology that any investor would question.

But the Ben Graham ETN is almost beside the point.  The point is that ETFs give investors the means to express their precise views on the market.

My point would have better been made by examining all the ETFs in a given sector. Take, for example, the returns of the various healthcare ETFs in January.

Healthcare ETFs Sorted By January Returns

Fund Name

Ticker

…

Pequot CapitalPequot Capital Management Hedge Fund NoteThe following piece on Pequot Capital Management is being published as part of our daily effort to track hedge fund events and managers in the industry. To review other hedge fund related announcements and manager notes please see our Hedge Fund Tracker Tool._____________________________________________________In 2004, Pequot expanded its upper management team. “Employee-owned, Pequot Capital offers funds that focus on technology, health care services, and small-cap firms to institutional investors and wealthy individuals.”Pequot Management’s venture capital arm, “Pequot Ventures” split from the company and formed “FirstMark Capital”. The move was described as “the next logical step” for both Pequot Capital and Pequot Ventures. The move does not appear to effect Pequot Capital’s Hedge Funds since ...