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Investing.com - Leerink Partners has reiterated its Market Perform rating and $271.00 price target on Humana (NYSE:HUM), currently trading near its 52-week low at $217, following the company’s loss in its Stars rating lawsuit. According to InvestingPro data, the healthcare giant maintains strong financial health with a market capitalization of $26.31 billion.
The dismissal of Humana’s lawsuit was based on procedural grounds, with the Court ruling that the company had not exhausted the administrative appeals process before seeking judicial relief, making the suit premature.
Humana had contested three contracts that experienced Star rating declines, including its largest contract H5216, which contains 44% of its members, with arguments centered around call center issues, dropped calls, and callback refusals.
Leerink Partners indicates that most investors had likely already discounted any potential positive outcome from this case, noting that even if Humana had won, there would still be recurring risk of losing on Stars/Quality Bonus Payment (QBP) in future years.
The firm continues to project a $1.78 billion net headwind from Stars ratings in 2026 and models Humana improving its 4+ Star members by 44% in 2027 to reach 73% of members in 4+ Star rated plans, up from the current 29%.
In other recent news, Humana has faced a legal setback as its lawsuit against the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services regarding its 2025 STAR ratings was dismissed. The dismissal allows Humana to refile the lawsuit after completing the administrative appeals process. Despite this, Raymond (NSE:RYMD) James maintained its Outperform rating on Humana, emphasizing that the STAR ratings, which are reassessed annually, could impact future earnings. Barclays (LON:BARC) also kept its Equalweight rating, noting that the lawsuit loss was already factored into Humana’s earnings targets. In another development, Humana announced its Medicaid plan, Humana Healthy Horizons, is now available to Virginia Cardinal Care beneficiaries. This expansion is part of Humana’s ongoing growth in healthcare services. Additionally, Raymond James raised its price target for Humana to $340, citing potential EPS growth by 2028. Lastly, Humana has expanded its climate targets, aiming to reduce emissions from its investment portfolio with new goals validated by the Science Based Targets initiative.
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