Health Net’s (HNT) third-quarter earnings per share came in at 67 cents, well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 61 cents and the year-ago earnings of 35 cents. The company reported revenues of $4 billion, an increase of 3.9% compared to the corresponding quarter of last year. The company receives revenues in the form of health plan service premiums, government contracts, net investment income and administrative services, fees and other income.

Health plan services premium, accounting for approximately 80% of total revenues during the quarter increased 3% year over year to $3.17 million. While revenues from government contracts increased 4.7% to $758 million, sequentially, it came down by 8.8%. We believe revenues from government contracts will decline further with the loss of contract in July with the Department of Defense awarding Aetna (AET) the $2.8 billion managed care contract to provide services for the northern region of the department's

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Tuesday October 20, 2009

DrStockPick.com Stock Report!

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UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) reported third quarter results today, including growth in revenues and net earnings and a continued strong financial position. Stephen J. Hemsley, president and chief executive officer of UnitedHealth Group, said, “We combined successful overall cost containment and strong execution in our services businesses to continue to perform during a difficult economic period. This reinforces the value of our diversified business model. We continue to focus on delivering value for customers and stakeholders through responsive, high

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DrStockPick.com Stock Report!

Monday August 17, 2009

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UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) company, announced it will launch the Connected Care program in Colorado, giving patients in certain rural locations expanded access to physicians and specialists using advanced telehealth technology. The Colorado program is among the first in UnitedHealthcare’s work with Cisco (NYSE: CSCO) and others to build a national telehealth network.

Harbin Electric, Inc. (Nasdaq: HRBN), a leading developer and manufacturer of a wide array of electric motors in the People’s Republic of China, today announced that it closed the sale of an additional 937,500 shares of common stock at the public offering price of $16.00 per share, pursuant to

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Health insurer WellPoint Inc. (WLP) reported second quarter GAAP results of $693.5 million or $1.43 per share that were in-line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Non-GAAP earnings, excluding net investment losses of 7 cents per share, came in at $1.50 per share. On a GAAP basis, profits declined 7.6% from the year-ago period. Total operating revenues declined 1.4% to $15.265.8 million. Operating gains from the Commercial Business segment declined 31.2% to $582.8 million. Results were affected by the increasing unemployment rate. The Consumer Business reported an operating gain of $382.1 million, up 67.7% from the year-ago period. Operating improvements in the Senior business helped drive growth in this segment. The Other segment reported a 12.5% year-over-year increase in operating gain, which was driven by growth in the company’s NextRx pharmacy benefit management operation. We were disappointed to see a significant decline in medical enrollment in ...

• Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) reported earnings of 72 cents a share, versus consensus estimates of 22 cents.  The company also increased its year-end guidance to $1.15 to $2.25 a share, up from Street estimates of $1.01

• Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) reported global case volume increased 4% during the quarter, with earnings coming in at 92 cents a share, ahead of Street estimates of 89 cents a share

• DuPont (NYSE:DD) reported second-quarter earnings of 61 cents a share, ahead of projections of 53 cents a share.  The firm provided full-year guidance of $1.70 to $2.00 a share, versus consensus views of $1.70 a share

• Merck (NYSE:MRK) reported second quarter earnings of 83 cents a share, beating estimates by 6 cents, as revenues dropped 2.5% to $5.9 billion

• Western Union (NYSE:WU) posted better-than-estimated second quarter earnings of 32 cents a share, 2 pennies ahead of Street projections on in-line revenues, which dropped 6.9% to $1.25

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div style="text-align: justify;"Oppenheimer is downgrading span style="font-weight: bold;"UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) /spanto Underperform from Perform, and reducing their price target from $32 to $24.br /br /span style="font-weight: bold;"Firm notes it's come to their attention that United is relying on a very aggressive Medicare bidding strategy in 2010 that will likely result in significant Medicare margin compression. /spanUnited's bid assumes that physician costs will fall 21% next year, and that if a Medicare doctor payment fix occurs this year (likely), that plan reimbursement will be adjusted accordingly (very unlikely). Most other big Medicare plans in the industry are resigned to Medicare rates falling about 5% in 2010, versus an expected cost trend increase of 5%, and have reduced benefits accordingly. 2010 EPS projection is down $0.30, to $3.00.br /br /span style="font-weight: bold;"If this goes against United, in a worst-case scenario, it will negatively impact operating earnings by almost $800 million, or $0.45 ...

div style="text-align: justify;"Oppenheimer is downgrading span style="font-weight: bold;"UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) /spanto Underperform from Perform, and reducing their price target from $32 to $24.br /br /span style="font-weight: bold;"Firm notes it's come to their attention that United is relying on a very aggressive Medicare bidding strategy in 2010 that will likely result in significant Medicare margin compression. /spanUnited's bid assumes that physician costs will fall 21% next year, and that if a Medicare doctor payment fix occurs this year (likely), that plan reimbursement will be adjusted accordingly (very unlikely). Most other big Medicare plans in the industry are resigned to Medicare rates falling about 5% in 2010, versus an expected cost trend increase of 5%, and have reduced benefits accordingly. 2010 EPS projection is down $0.30, to $3.00.br /br /span style="font-weight: bold;"If this goes against United, in a worst-case scenario, it will negatively impact operating earnings by almost $800 million, or $0.45 ...

In my opinion, health care is the most difficult industry for novice investors to understand.  With so many stakeholders involved in developing and manufacturing any given medical product, it is often hard to obtain a firm grasp of what is shaping the future of this industry.  In this series, I will be analyzing the health care industry using a top-down approach to help you understand the current and future environment that will determine the success or failure of the efforts of health care companies.

Obama’s Health Care Plan

Probably the most capricious entity is the federal government.  With many political figures working on so many social and political agendas, the topic of health care can often become fad-like within Congress; however, the Obama Administration has made it clear that health care is close to the top of its agenda.  Obama’s plan will provide millions of Americans with stronger health care coverage

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Adam Lass says funding pressures will increase political pressure to investigate the practices of big health insurers. UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) is ready to pay out $50 million in reimbursements. Adam says traders stand to make triple-digit gains by shorting UNH and other insurers being scrutinised by the courts.

This from Taipan Daily:

“$700 billion here… $700 billion there… after a while, you are talking about real money!”

Yeah, I filched the line. Supposedly it was originally uttered by famed Illinois Senator Everett Dirksen. Except it was supposed to be about a mere couple billion dollars. And no one’s really sure if he actually said it.

Here’s something I know he said, as I filched it from the Congressional Record of June 16, 1965:

One time in the House of Representatives [a colleague] told me a story about a proposition that a teacher put to a boy. He said, ‘Johnny, a cat

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Trade was one of Minnesota's earliest industries. A lot has changed since the days when fur trading was the main business of this economy. Today Minnesota is home to a vibrant economy. The state is a top producer of wind power and ethanol fuel.Some interesting facts about the state are:1. Purchase and sale of cattle, sheep, goats, poultry and fur-bearing animals is tax-free.2. Petroleum derivates are tax-free when used in the production of agricultural products.3. Forest products, minerals, and outdoor recreation represent 6% of the State’s gross product.4. Minnesota’s top exports are: computers, and electronics, and machinery.5. The state’s top trading partners are Canada, China and Ireland.6. Minnesota has the 14th lowest property tax in the nation.7. More fortune 500 companies are headquartered in Minnesota per person than in any other state.8. Between 1994 ...