Gopher State's Suit Galls UnitedHealth

"That's Nov. 9," says Sheryl Skolnick, senior vice president of CRT Capital Group. "I think there's a remote chance that they will have anything material to report on the options situation next week -- very remote."

Thus, Skolnick plans to focus on the company's operational results instead.

Skolnick warns that UnitedHealth will probably report negative cash flow from operations for the quarter -- something "that never happens at this company." However, she blames the timing of certain Medicare payments instead of any deterioration in the company's fundamental performance.

Indeed, Skolnick expects UnitedHealth to meet Wall Street expectations with third-quarter earnings of 76 cents a share. She believes that strong cost management -- rather than big enrollment gains -- will continue to drive the company's margins higher.

"I think that's really where the company has excelled," she says. "There is a whole host of things that the company has been doing to aggressively contain costs, which is exactly what they should be doing. ... Volume discounts: That's what it's supposed to be all about."

Skolnick has a fair value rating on UnitedHealth's stock, which she plans to maintain until the company shares the long-awaited results of its internal options probe. The stock slipped 1% to $49.60 on Thursday.