UPDATE 1-Optimer shares rise after report names Glaxo, Cubist as potential buyers

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* Co aims to get as much as $1 bln - report

* Optimer could get $15-$16/shr - analyst

* Shares up 18 pct

(Adds comments from an analyst, details)

April 2 (Reuters) - Shares of Optimer Pharmaceuticals Inc rose as much as 24 percent after a Bloomberg report said GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc were among those interested in buying the antibiotic maker.

Optimer, the maker of diarrhea drug Dificid, aims to get as much as $1 billion in a possible auction, the report said, quoting two unnamed sources. (http://link.reuters.com/cys96t)

The report also named AstraZeneca PLC and Japan's Astellas Pharma Inc as potential buyers.

Robert W. Baird & Co analyst Brian Skorney said the $1 billion target implied a price of about $18 per share, which, he felt, would be difficult to achieve.

"I think we can see a $15 to $16 (per share) deal get done," Slorney said, calling the jump in Optimer's stock price a probable overreaction.

Tuesday's gains in the stock price eclipsed the 13 percent jump it had seen on Feb. 27, when the company first said it would explore a sale after replacing its CEO.

The shares were up 18 percent at $13.84 in afternoon trade on the Nasdaq, well above their closing price of $12.13 on Feb. 27.

"I think bankers are probably leaking some information to try drum up some more enthusiasm to get a higher deal value than what is already on the table," Skorney said.

Analysts have previously identified Pfizer Inc, Viropharma Inc and Cubist as potential suitors for Optimer.

"Anyone who has commercial infrastructure selling hospital-based antibiotics could be a bidder here," Skorney said.

"Astellas is already partnered with Optimer and since they already own most of the worldwide rights, it makes sense to consolidate everything."

Similarly, he said, Pfizer Inc had a number of antibiotics that would go generic over the next couple of years, so bidding for Optimer would make sense for it too.

Skorney said the cost, and the benefit, of the acquisition would be trivial for companies like Glaxo and Johnson & Johnson , but Forest Laboratories and Cubist would have to pay over 10 percent of their current valuation for Optimer.

Optimer spokesman David Walsey was unavailable for comment.

Cubist spokeswoman Julie DiCarlo said the company did not comment on speculation or rumors related to mergers and acquisitions. GSK declined to comment.

Dificid, which treats adult patients who contract infectious diarrhea in hospitals, accounted for $62.4 million in sales in 2012. The company is expected to generate sales of $310 million from the drug by 2017, according Thomson Reuters data.

Optimer is also testing to see if the drug can prevent diarrhea in patients under 18 years and whether it can treat it in patients undergoing bone marrow transplants.

(Editing by Sreejiraj Eluvangal)

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UnitedHealth Posts Narrow Earnings Beat, Shares Suffer

UnitedHealth Group, the largest U.S. health insurer, said on Thursday that it kept fourth-quarter 2012 costs under control and increased revenue by more 11 percent, helping earnings per share rise.

The company, which provides health care benefits through both employer and government paid insurance plans and serves the individual and military markets, also backed its forecast for at least 11 percent 2013 revenue growth and said earnings would be in a range of slightly down to up 4 percent.

After the earnings report, UnitedHealth's shares fell more than one percent in pre-market trading. (Click here for the latest before-hours quotes.)

UnitedHealth's business has benefited in recent years as consumers have cut back on medical services because of the weak economy, but the company also has had to adapt to new rules for insurers associated with the 2010 Patient Prevention and Affordable Care Act.

It said that in the fourth-quarter, commercial medical costs were a bit lower than it had expected and that its medical loss ratio, or the percentage of premiums paid for medical expenses, was 80.5 percent. The Affordable Care Act last year began requiring companies to spend at least 80 or 85 percent of premiums on medical care or provide a rebate to customers.

UnitedHealth, which bought 65 percent of Brazil's Amil Participacoes for $3.5 billion during the quarter, plans to increase its stake by 25 percent through buying shares from the public during the first half of 2013. That affiliate helped push international revenues to $1 billion in the fourth quarter, the company said.

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