Source: Zhitong Finance.

The investment bank Baird has$UnitedHealth (UNH.US)$and$Alignment Healthcare (ALHC.US)$as one of its two top defensive stock picks, emphasizing that Managed Care companies can withstand the impact of the tariff policies of the Trump administration.

"The logic is simple," Baird Analyst Michael Ha noted in the report, given that the Industry primarily relies on domestic revenue and its Business focuses on the federal Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plan (MAPD) and the federal Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, the managed medical Sector is basically unaffected by tariff threats. "We expect the companies to achieve better-than-expected performance in the first quarter, but believe that management will not raise the full-year guidance, considering potential policy changes in Part D plans and macro headwinds that may arise this year, the companies will maintain a conservative attitude toward performance expectations for 2025."

Baird has given UnitedHealth and Alignment Healthcare a 'Outperform' rating, with the former's Target Price set at $640 and the latter's Target Price raised from $17 per share to $22 per share. Institutions are$Humana (HUM.US)$Maintain a "Neutral" rating, but raise the Target Price from $270 to $300, indicating that if Humana can properly handle the 2026 star rating litigation and achieve favorable results in the 2027 ratings, consideration will be given to upgrading it to a preferred stock.

$CVS Health (CVS.US)$ Also received a "Neutral" rating, with the Target Price raised from $51 to $71 per share. "We apply a valuation multiple that discounts CVS's five-year historical peak PE by one time," Ha explained, "this reflects our determination of CVS's potential profitability and includes a modest discount for a cautious outlook for the next 1-2 quarters."

Despite maintaining an "Outperform" rating, Baird will $Cigna Group (CI.US)$ lower the Target Price from $388 to $362 due to the company's exposure to higher unemployment risk in a recession scenario, coupled with a lack of government healthcare business cushioning policies to mitigate the impact.

Given the risks related to Medicaid policies, Baird will $Molina Healthcare (MOH.US)$ 、 $Elevance Health (ELV.US)$ and$Centene (CNC.US)$The rating has been lowered from "outperform the Large Cap" to "neutral," with the Target Prices adjusted to $375, $529, and $69 (formerly $331, $625, and $71). Based on similar policy considerations, the Institution will also$Tenet Healthcare (THC.US)$、 $Universal Health Services (UHS.US)$ and $HCA Healthcare (HCA.US)$ The rating was downgraded from "Outperform" to "Neutral," with the target prices adjusted to $137/$224/$336 (previously $153/$274/$396).

"Although the fundamentals are robust, we believe that these Stocks will struggle to attract incremental funds before the policy uncertainty is resolved," the Analyst wrote in the report.

Editor/jayden