Enviado: 17/10/2006 14:12"UnitedHealth's Options Pain Lingers"
By Jim Cramer
RealMoney.com Columnist
10/17/2006 8:47 AM EDT
"It's tough to get rid of everybody after an options scandal. You want someone running the company. But as we see today with UnitedHealth Group (UNH - commentary - Cramer's Take), if you got options that were predated, you are as good as dead, regardless of innocence.
I mean was there any real doubt that the press would relent on UnitedHealth when it came to light Stephen Helmsley, Bill McGuire's number two, received options dated from before he got there? When I read that in the McLucas report, I said to myself, "Sure, we need someone to run the company. But it can't be anyone with any sort of taint."
Maybe it will "blow over" now that McGuire's out. But this options-backdating scandal has not, for any company, blown over yet. I have to believe the Securities and Exchange Commission wants everyone who could be involved broomed, and broomed now. I would like to think that the SEC somehow checked off on Helmsley staying, but I don't believe it did.
It's funny, when you have an issue like this one, which is so clearly wrong, now that we have read the McLucas report, you know that fallout is never going to be limited to one or two guys. If you got backdated options of any sort, don't even try to hang on. Just resign. UnitedHealth would have bottomed yesterday if the company had made a clean sweep. Instead, now we have to endure another month's worth of bad press before Helmsley's booted, too.
It's inevitable. What's the point of fighting it? UNH, get the pain over with and move on. You are a better company than this. "
At the time of publication, Cramer was long UnitedHealth Group.
(in www.realmoney.com)
By Jim Cramer
RealMoney.com Columnist
10/17/2006 8:47 AM EDT
"It's tough to get rid of everybody after an options scandal. You want someone running the company. But as we see today with UnitedHealth Group (UNH - commentary - Cramer's Take), if you got options that were predated, you are as good as dead, regardless of innocence.
I mean was there any real doubt that the press would relent on UnitedHealth when it came to light Stephen Helmsley, Bill McGuire's number two, received options dated from before he got there? When I read that in the McLucas report, I said to myself, "Sure, we need someone to run the company. But it can't be anyone with any sort of taint."
Maybe it will "blow over" now that McGuire's out. But this options-backdating scandal has not, for any company, blown over yet. I have to believe the Securities and Exchange Commission wants everyone who could be involved broomed, and broomed now. I would like to think that the SEC somehow checked off on Helmsley staying, but I don't believe it did.
It's funny, when you have an issue like this one, which is so clearly wrong, now that we have read the McLucas report, you know that fallout is never going to be limited to one or two guys. If you got backdated options of any sort, don't even try to hang on. Just resign. UnitedHealth would have bottomed yesterday if the company had made a clean sweep. Instead, now we have to endure another month's worth of bad press before Helmsley's booted, too.
It's inevitable. What's the point of fighting it? UNH, get the pain over with and move on. You are a better company than this. "
At the time of publication, Cramer was long UnitedHealth Group.
(in www.realmoney.com)