Amedisys Acquisition by UnitedHealth Unit Seen to Close Despite Potential DOJ Probe, RBC Says

/ / Health Care /

Amedisys’ (AMED) acquisition by UnitedHealth Group’s (UNH) Optum unit is expected to be completed despite unconfirmed reports of a possible antitrust investigation by the US Department of Justice, RBC Capital Markets said in a note Monday. The brokerage said it expects the combination of Amedisys and Optum health services to create the largest home health platform in the US with about 10% market share. “We continue to believe that the Optum/AMED deal will close given strong precedent for carriers operating home health assets and the high fragmentation across the home care sector, even pro forma for the combination,” RBC said. RBC raised its price target for Amedisys to $100 from $97, factoring in the upside potential from a deal, and maintained its outperform rating on the stock. However, it also provided a downside valuation of $74 in a potential deal-break scenario, reflecting “a discount to peers and a slight discount

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CFRA Reiterates Buy Opinion On Shares Of The Walt Disney Company

/ / Consumer Discretionary /

CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows: We believe DIS has a rigorous plan to drive future growth and enterprise value leading to the April 3 shareholder meeting. We raise our target by $19 to $139 on a forward TEV/EBITDA of 14.1x our 2024 EBITDA estimate of $1.46B. Our multiple is well below the five-year historic average of 22.5x, but a premium to linear network peers that trade at high-single digits. We think DIS deserves a higher valuation for Experiences (parks and cruises lines) at 37% of FY 2023 (Sep.) revenue and 59% of operating income and leading Sports franchises (18%, 33%) with ESPN networks. The turnaround story centers around Entertainment’s (45%, 7%) film, television networks, and direct-to-consumer units with Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu. We like that DIS is driving efficient content spending, as

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Boeing’s CEO Is Departing, but the Company’s Problems Run Far Deeper

/ / Industrials /

By Therese Poletti Troubled aviation giant needs to restore its engineering and safety reputation ‘Boeing doesn’t have an accounting problem or a cost savings problem. They have a safety and culture problem.’Corporate board analyst Matt Moscardi Boeing Co. Chief Executive David Calhoun will step down at the end of the year, a change at the top that is not going to immediately fix the issues at the troubled aerospace giant, which needs to shake up its financially driven culture and get back to its engineering roots. Boeing (BA) is now embarking on a difficult search for a new CEO – someone who can work with federal regulators, inspire employees and return the company’s once-vaunted manufacturing back to world class. Calhoun’s departure, scheduled for year’s end, doesn’t communicate enough urgency, but it could help in the search for a successor. “Announcing a change nine months in advance is useful from a

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