Humana (HUM) Stock Upgraded at Jefferies
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Humana's (HUM) - Get Report stock rating was hiked to "buy" from "hold" in a note released at Jefferies earlier today.
The firm boosted its price target to $210 from $199 on shares of the Louisville, KY-based health insurer.
Jefferies believes that Humana's planned merger with Aetna (AET) will go through, and investors could consequently profit.
"This is a non-consensus call, but conversations with legal experts suggest AET's pending acquisition of HUM is more likely to go through than not. Juxtaposed against the significant HUM selloff MTD (and YTD), we think this affords compelling enough risk/reward to step in," Jefferies said.
If the deal falls apart, near-term downside is 12% vs. 41% is the deal is approved, the firm noted.
Shares are flat in pre-market trading after closing at $158.89 on Friday.
Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates the stock as a "buy" with a ratings score of B+.
Humana's strengths such as its largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and good cash flow from operations. We feel its strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had lackluster performance in the stock itself.
You can view the full analysis from the report here: HUM
TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this article's author.