Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Steven Halper views yesterday's Senate hearing as a net positive for the pharmacy benefit managers. The PBMs represented were Cigna (CI), CVS Health (CVS), UnitedHealth (UNH), Humana (HUM) and Prime Therapeutics. Although the Senators were not supportive of the PBMs, the executives responded well to questions and put forth a solid effort to address concerns regarding their business model and incentives, Halper tells investors in a research note. Overall, he views the hearing as a net positive for PBMs "as the group was able to counter the negative sentiment with constructive responses, recognizing this story is far from over."

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).

RBC Capital analyst Ben Hendrix lowered the firm's price target on UnitedHealth to $555 from $596 but keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The company reported a "better than feared" Q1, but the debate over utilization trends is expected to persist through the first half as excess reserves skew the medical care ratio picture, the analyst tells investors in a research note. RBC also notes that its added caution reflects UnitedHealth's "reduced claims visibility".