CNC Centene Corp

   By Matt Grossman 
 

Major health-insurance stocks traded higher Wednesday morning, a sign that investors were comforted by Joe Biden's strong performance in yesterday's Super Tuesday primaries, according to analysts.

Anthem Inc. climbed 13% to $289.78 in midmorning trading, and UnitedHealth Group Inc. rose 10% to $12.84. Humana Inc. gained more than 12% to trade at $364.10.

The trading followed Mr. Biden's victories in at least nine states yesterday, compared with Sen. Bernie Sanders' four wins. The result in Maine is still pending.

Investors have been concerned that Mr. Sanders' plan for single-payer health care poses risks for health insurers, analysts said.

"The risk of having someone who has a policy of Medicare for all creates uncertainty around health care," said Michael Wiederhorn, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. "Anytime we saw strength in Sanders' probability of rising in the polls or doing well in the primaries, the stocks had an inverse relation."

Mr. Biden has now won 476 delegates, compared with Mr. Sanders' 392. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is a distant third with 51.

Mr. Biden represents "the best option" for insurers with managed-care organizations such as UnitedHealth, Anthem and Cigna, according to Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Steven Halper. He said Mr. Biden's support for the Affordable Care Act endears his candidacy to companies such as Centene Corp. that sell insurance on the ACA's individual market.

Centene traded more than 12% higher Wednesday morning to $60.78.

Mr. Biden's status as the leading moderate Democrat in the race was bolstered Wednesday morning when Mike Bloomberg announced his withdrawal from the race.

Write to Matt Grossman at matt.grossman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 04, 2020 11:00 ET (16:00 GMT)

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