Obama Beams, Health Stocks Cool Off
(Health care story updated for market close on Tuesday)
WASHINGTON D.C. (
) -- President Obama signed health care reform into law at a White House ceremony shortly before noon on Tuesday, but the photo op didn't help extend the recent rally in health care stocks.
President Obama |
On Monday,
hospital operators and Medicaid-focused health care providers posted big gains, led by
Tenet Healthcare
(THC) - Get Report
,
Health Management Associates
(HMA)
,
Centene
(CNC) - Get Report
and
HMS Holdings
(HMSY) - Get Report
. Many health-care-related names set new 52-week highs.
During Tuesday's session -- even as Obama looked more relaxed than in recent weeks as he basked in his victory -- investors were taking some of the short-term froth off the sector's recent gains.
The Dow Jones U.S. Health Care Index was marginally positive (about 0.4%) on Tuesday.
Shares of
MedCath
( MDTH), which had rallied last week after an
analyst upgraded the hospital operator on news that it would sell off its hospital assets, suffered the largest decline Tuesday, falling 1.7% at the close on Tuesday, and after hours trading in MedCath shares was nearing a double digit decline on Tuesday.
Shares of Health Management, meanwhile finished slat on Tuesday, after big gains on Monday.
Community Health Systems
(CYH) - Get Report
finished down 1.9% on Tuesday, while
Lifepoint Hospitals
(LPNT)
was down marginally on Tuesday.
On Monday, Lifepoint, Community Health and
Universal Health Services
(UHS) - Get Report
all rose by about 6% and all touched 52-week highs intraday.
Among health care service providers, HMS Holdings saw its share prices slip 2.6% on Tuesday afternoon, while Centene, and
Amerigroup
( AGP) recovered after Tuesday morning declines to post marginally positive gains by the close on Tuesday.
JPMorgan indicated in note Monday that Amerigroup, Centene and
Molina Healthcare
(MOH) - Get Report
were among the Medicaid providers that would benefit from the reform effort becoming law. Molina shares fell 0.5% on Tuesday.
-- Reported by Eric Rosenbaum in New York
RELATED STORIES:
>>What's Your Health Care Reform Play?
>>Health Reform Winners: Hospitals, Medicaid
>>MedCath Rallies on Deutsche Upgrade
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