After CVS Health (CVS) announced Walmart (WMT) will leave Caremark's commercial and Managed Medicaid retail pharmacy networks at the end of April 2019, analysts at Morgan Stanley discussed the potential impact of the fight to both companies and to competitors. Analyst Ricky Goldwasser said the dispute "brings back memories" of the Express Scripts (ESRX) and Walgreens (WBA) breakup in 2011, but unlike in that case it is only the early days of the 2019/2020 selling season, not after the selling season concluded. Walmart's plans to leave should have a limited impact on CVS' FY19 EPS power, but adds uncertainty to PBM selling season if not resolved in the near-term, said Goldwasser. Morgan Stanley's Simeon Gutman said that if the dispute is not resolved, it could end up reducing Walmart's EBIT by about $260M in 2019, which he estimates could have a 7c, or 1.5%, impact on EPS. In terms of who may benefit if no resolution is reached, the team estimates both Walgreens and CVS retail could gain an incremental 25 bps of pharmacy share and that UnitedHealth's (UNH) Optum and Cigna (CI) could see a step up in PBM selling season win rates. However, given Walmart's relatively low share, they view the PBM share opportunity as "minimal."

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".