Elevance Health preannounced Q1 earnings beat ‘quite positive,’ says Baird

Baird notes Elevance Health (ELV) pre-announced a Q1 earnings beat with adjusted EPS of $11.97 vs. $11.62 implied guide, vs. $11.32 street, vs. its $11.63. The company cites medical costs developed in line with expectations including Medicare Advantage and although cost trends in MA remain elevated, Q1 experience was in line with expectations and pricing. The firm sees this Q1 print as quite positive for Elevance and in isolation would warrant a low single digit move higher today, but clearly quite a divergence from UnitedHealth’s (UNH) negative print today. Baird has a Neutral rating on Elevance with a price target of $529.