Home health services provider Amedisys the place to be in coronavirus crisis-Benchmark

National Healthcare

09/03/2020 11:17

** Brokerage Benchmark upgrades Amedisys  AMED.O  to "buy"
from "hold", saying home health services providers well
positioned for the potential spread of the coronavirus
    ** Home health cos can see increase in admissions on further
spread of virus as hospitals strive to discharge patients with
unrelated conditions more quickly due to capacity constraints -
brokerage
    ** AMED's protocols for handling highly infectious patients
will be enhanced when sufficient coronavirus test kits are
available, and this could manage the risk to AMED's caregivers -
Benchmark
    ** If outbreak pushes world economy into recession, demand
for home health services should see no impact - brokerage
    ** AMED is set to accelerate growth and expand margins
starting in the H2 of 2020, says Benchmark, adding that it sees
consolidation opportunities that can add to revenue growth
starting later this year and more significantly into 2021
    ** Sets PT at $205; Mean rating on stock is "buy" and median
PT is $215 - Refinitiv
    ** Up to Friday's close, stock had risen 4% YTD; Peers LHC
Group  LHCG.O  and National HealthCare Corp  NHC.A  down between
7%-14%, while Encompass Health Corp  EHC.N  up 11.5% for the
same period

 (Reporting by Saumya Sibi Joseph in Bengaluru)
 ((saumya.joseph@thomsonreuters.com))