WellCare Should Appreciate Further on Piper Note

Piper Jaffray is upping their target on WellCare Health Plans (NYSE:WCG) to $66 from $50, saying general indications from their proprietary Medicare Advantage broker survey indicate that while sales are not likely to meet last year's levels, concerns that WCG MA enrollment could meaningfully decline in '08 as a result of the recent investigation are over-done.

Raising their MA enrollment outlook to just a 5k decline from prior view of a 27k decline, though enrollment gains appear more likely. The firm is maintaining their '08 estimate as they incorporate even greater legal and compliance expenditures than they had previously modeled.

Reiterates Buy.

Notablecalls: WCG has seen a nice rebound, up 7-8 bucks since I highlighted it as an Actionable call 3 weeks ago. I think today's call from Piper Jaffray will generate some further buy interest, say 1-2 bucks worth.