ELV

Market Reaction to Tariffs: President Trump's newly announced tariffs have caused significant market selloffs, creating uncertainty among investors.

Investment Strategy Shift: Analyst Barry Bannister from Stifel suggests that investors should focus on "defensive value" stocks rather than "cyclical growth" stocks in light of the tariff impacts.

Market Resilience: Companies like Lamb Weston, Verizon, AbbVie, and TJX showed resilience during a significant market selloff, as investors sought stocks in tariff-resistant sectors such as food and pharmaceuticals.

Impact of Tariffs: The Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a sharp decline of about 1,300 points, highlighting the market's reaction to anticipated tariffs and leading investors towards discount retailers.

Market Decline: Major U.S. stock indexes, including the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, experienced significant declines due to concerns over President Trump's new tariffs, which are expected to negatively impact economic growth and corporate earnings.

Labor Market and Economic Indicators: While initial unemployment claims fell unexpectedly, continuing claims rose to a multi-year high, indicating challenges in workforce reentry; additionally, the ISM services index dropped to a nine-month low, reflecting weakening economic conditions.

52 Week Range and Current Price: SCHG has a 52-week low of $21.68 and a high of $29.14, with the last trade recorded at $24.32, indicating its current position within this range.

ETFs Trading Dynamics: Exchange traded funds (ETFs) function like stocks but involve trading "units" that can be created or destroyed based on investor demand, affecting the underlying holdings and market flows.

Company Overview and Earnings Expectations: Elevance Health, Inc. has a market cap of $102.5 billion and offers various health services. Analysts expect the company to report a profit of $10.97 per share for Q1 2025, reflecting a 3.1% increase from the previous year.

Stock Performance and Analyst Ratings: Despite underperforming the market with an 8.1% decline in shares over the past year, analysts maintain a bullish outlook on ELV stock, with a consensus "Strong Buy" rating and an average price target suggesting a potential upside of 10.8%.

Earnings Release Announcement: Elevance Health will announce its first quarter 2025 financial results on April 22, 2025, at 6:00 a.m. EDT, followed by a conference call at 8:30 a.m. EDT for management to discuss the results and outlook.

Company Overview: Elevance Health is dedicated to improving health outcomes and serves approximately 112 million consumers through various healthcare solutions, emphasizing its role as a trusted health partner.

Earnings Performance: Harrow (HROW) reported quarterly earnings of $0.25 per share, significantly exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.11, and showing a turnaround from a loss of $0.27 per share a year ago. The company also achieved revenues of $66.83 million, surpassing expectations and reflecting growth from $36.36 million in the previous year.

Market Outlook: Despite the positive earnings report, Harrow's shares have declined by 17.6% this year, underperforming the S&P 500. The stock currently holds a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating it is expected to perform in line with the market, while future performance may depend on changes in earnings estimates and industry outlook.

Medicaid Overpayments: Health insurers received over $4.3 billion in duplicate payments from the Medicaid system for covering patients who were already enrolled in other states, leading to significant financial losses for taxpayers.

Impact on Taxpayers: The double payments to insurers for low-income Medicaid recipients have resulted in billions of dollars in unnecessary costs to state and federal governments.

Insurance Industry Stability: The insurance sector, particularly property & casualty insurers, is viewed as less volatile and more recession-resilient due to its domestic focus, making it a stable investment amid uncertain global markets.

Stock Recommendations: Analysts favor UnitedHealth and Elevance Health with Strong Buy ratings, while property and casualty insurers like Progressive and Chubb received cautious Holds, indicating mixed opinions on major insurance stocks.

ELEVANCE HEALTH INC Analysis: ELEVANCE HEALTH INC (ELV) has received a 65% rating from Validea's Shareholder Yield Investor model, indicating a moderate interest in the stock based on its cash return to shareholders through dividends, buybacks, and debt paydown.

Meb Faber's Investment Strategy: Meb Faber, founder of Cambria Investments, emphasizes shareholder yield in his investment strategy, focusing on companies that create value for shareholders, which is reflected in his research and published works.

Analyst Ranking Methodology: The ranking of the 500 components is based on averaging analyst opinions from various brokers.

Stock Performance: Elevance Health has experienced a year-to-date stock price increase of 16.0%.

ELEVANCE HEALTH INC Analysis: ELEVANCE HEALTH INC (ELV) has received a 65% rating from Validea's Shareholder Yield Investor model, indicating a moderate interest in the stock based on its cash return to shareholders through dividends, buybacks, and debt paydown.

Meb Faber's Investment Strategy: Meb Faber, founder of Cambria Investments, emphasizes shareholder yield in his investment strategy, focusing on companies that create value for shareholders, which is reflected in his research and published works.

Market Performance: Major US stock indexes, including the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, closed down due to concerns over US trade policies and economic momentum, despite some positive economic reports on housing starts and manufacturing production.

Geopolitical and Economic Factors: Tensions in the Middle East and recent tariff increases by President Trump are contributing to market volatility, while investors have significantly reduced their stock holdings, leading to a rise in cash levels.

Market Performance: Major U.S. stock indexes, including the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, are down due to concerns over U.S. economic momentum and geopolitical risks, despite better-than-expected economic data on housing starts and manufacturing production.

Investor Sentiment: A recent Bank of America survey indicates a significant reduction in U.S. stock holdings among investors, with cash levels rising, as fears of economic growth weakening due to tariffs and trade policies persist.

ETF Analyst Target Prices: The iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (USMV) has an implied analyst target price of $104.43, indicating an 11.98% upside from its current trading price of $93.25. Notable underlying holdings with significant upside include Liberty Media Corp, Teledyne Technologies Inc, and Elevance Health Inc.

Investor Considerations: Questions arise regarding the validity of analysts' target prices, whether they are justified or overly optimistic, and the potential for future downgrades based on recent company and industry developments. Further investor research is recommended to assess these targets.

Elevance Health Upgrade: Argus has upgraded Elevance Health (ELV) from Hold to Buy with a price target of $450.

Earnings Guidance Reaffirmation: Elevance Health reaffirmed its adjusted EPS guidance for FY25, projecting earnings between $34.15 and $34.85.

Dr. Mehmet Oz's Senate Hearing: Dr. Mehmet Oz is undergoing a Senate confirmation hearing where Democratic senators are scrutinizing his plans for overseeing Medicare and Medicaid amidst potential significant changes proposed by the Trump administration.

Proposed Changes to Health Insurance: The Trump administration is considering major reductions in health insurance coverage for low-income individuals and a shift towards private plans for older Americans, impacting companies like UnitedHealth, Cigna, and others.

ELEVANCE HEALTH INC Analysis: ELEVANCE HEALTH INC (ELV) has received a 65% rating from Validea's Shareholder Yield Investor model, indicating a moderate interest in the stock based on its cash return to shareholders through dividends, buybacks, and debt paydown.

Meb Faber's Investment Strategy: Meb Faber, founder of Cambria Investments, emphasizes shareholder yield in his investment strategy, focusing on companies that create value for shareholders, which is reflected in his research and published works.

Mehmet Oz's Senate Confirmation Hearing: Mehmet Oz, nominated by President Trump to lead CMS, avoided directly answering questions about Medicaid support during his confirmation hearing, emphasizing the need for efficiency in federal health programs and fair compensation for providers.

Criticism of Medicare Advantage and Pharmacy Benefit Managers: Oz criticized Medicare Advantage upcoding as dishonest and highlighted the importance of holding pharmacy benefit managers accountable, while also advocating for timely reimbursement of drugs post-FDA approval.

Market Performance: Major US stock indexes, including the S&P 500 and Dow Jones, closed down significantly, reaching 5-3/4 month lows, primarily due to concerns over new tariffs imposed by President Trump on Canadian imports. However, there was some recovery in the afternoon following news of potential tariff suspensions and positive labor market data.

Sector Movements: Telecommunications and travel stocks faced significant declines, with Verizon and Delta Air Lines leading losses. In contrast, cybersecurity stocks saw gains after a reported cyberattack, while companies like Boeing and Elevance Health experienced positive movements due to strong performance announcements.