Stephens analyst Scott Fidel points out that Managed Care Organization stocks had bounced after the Iowa caucus, but he notes that it "was a rough initial showing" for Michael Bloomberg in his first Democratic debate. He will be looking at the near-term price action in MCO stocks "to reveal how much of the uplift in share strength since Iowa related to market sentiment that Bloomberg's prospects were accelerating." While he contends that a second term for Donald Trump would be a "best-case scenario" for MCO stocks, Fidel also argues that a nomination of Bernie Sanders "creates Black Swan risk that would not be so starkly present" with Bloomberg. MCO stocks Anthem (ANTM), Centene (CNC), CVS Health (CVS), Humana (HUM), Molina Healthcare (MOH) and UnitedHealth (UNH) are all lower in early afternoon trading amid a broader market selloff.

Deutsche Bank analyst George Hill raised the firm's price target on UnitedHealth to $562 from $545 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company reported a Q1 earnings beat with many moving pieces caused by the cyberattack on Change Healthcare, which left earnings quality and guidance up to investor interpretation, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm sees the full impact of the hack, as well as conservatism around cost trend and utilization would impact UnitedHealth earnings by only 2% for the full year.

Notable gainers among liquid option names this morning include Genuine Parts (GPC) $159.09 +15.03, Globe Life (GL) $66.97 +3.74, Anthem (ELV) $532.10 +23.13, United Continental (UAL) $50.59 +1.84, and UnitedHealth (UNH) $494.80 +15.81.

Unusual total active option classes on open include: Wrap Technologies (WRAP), AstraZeneca (AZN), JetBlue (JBLU), United Continental (UAL), Taiwan Semi (TSM), Nokia (NOK), EBay (EBAY), Maplebear Inc (CART), Airbnb (ABNB), and UnitedHealth (UNH).