Piper Jaffray analyst Sarah James views the post-earnings selloff today in shares of UnitedHealth as a buying opportunity. The company kicked off Q2 earnings with a "solid" beat and raise and "strong" Optum growth, James tells investors in a research note. Investors are misinterpreting comments on Medicare Advantage, the same comments misinterpreted after the Q2 of 2017 call, James contends. She notes that UnitedHealth indicated an uptick in utilization in MA for new members and those at end of life. Bears will read this as margin compression driven by the company's outsized growth, James writes, but she disagrees. Rather, the analyst thinks the company's risk mix is inline with how the product was priced and that the increased utilization relates to higher engagement and enrollment in medical management. She raised her price target for UnitedHealth shares to $285 from $270 and keeps an Overweight rating on the name.

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".