Humana's (HUM) progress towards star bonus recovery efforts appear to be on track for its 2028 target, RBC Capital Markets said in a Wednesday note.

RBC analysts noted the company's confident tone over its strong net promoter score, internal patient experience surveys, and high membership recapture. They said these factors indicate "better than expected" positioning in the wake of significant plan design changes into 2025.

The analysts also said investors are looking past the stars headwind in 2026 and the anticipated headwind in 2027 and valuing the company on 2028 earnings amid uncertainty over its stars litigation against Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

For 2028, Humana anticipates the company's star ratings to be in the upper quartile, though not exceeding 2025 levels, which should drive "significant EPS growth," they said.

RBC maintained the company's stock rating at outperform and raised its price target to $322 from $283.

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