JPMorgan analyst Jimmy Bhullar said he expects life insurers to report healthy earnings in the near-term due to the impact of the strong equity market, but he expects results to weaken through 2020, leaving him cautious on the sector in the new year. He believes consensus EPS forecasts for most companies in the group are too high and he projects life insurers to incur additional balance sheet charges in 2020, barring a steady rise in rates. Bhullar called Metlife (MET) his top pick in the space and noted that he is negative on Brighthouse Financial (BHF). Additional names in the space he covers include American Equity (AEL), AXA Equitable (EQH), Lincoln National (LNC), Principal Financial (PFG), Reinsurance Group (RGA), Unum Group (UNM), Aflac (AFL), AIG (AIG), Athene Holding (ATH), FGL Holdings (FG), Globe Life (GL), Prudential (PRU), and Voya Financial (VOYA).

Evercore ISI raised the firm's price target on Globe Life to $83 from $75 and keeps an In Line rating on the shares. The firm is raising its earnings estimates to reflect the company's decision to get more aggressive on share repurchases and the independent audit being conducted by an outside law firm of its American Income Life operations, though it notes there is still uncertainty with what the DOJ subpoenas might bring.

Notable gainers among liquid option names this morning include Globe Life (GL) $71.33 +4.94, Super Micro (SMCI) $764.85 +47.83, Danaher (DHR) $250.88 +14.79, Kimberly Clark (KMB) $136.87 +7.94, and General Motors (GM) $45.38 +2.17.

Reports Q1 Net income as an ROE 21.3%.

Bullish option flow detected in Globe Life with 4,126 calls trading, 2x expected, and implied vol increasing almost 9 points to 84.47%. May-24 80 calls and May-24 85 calls are the most active options, with total volume in those strikes near 1,100 contracts. The Put/Call Ratio is 0.26. Earnings are expected on April 22nd.