UnitedHealth Group Shares Plunge Nearly 20% After Weak Earnings
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 2h ago
0mins
Source: Yahoo Finance
- Earnings Decline: UnitedHealth Group's Q4 results revealed a significant drop in operational earnings alongside hefty restructuring charges, leading to a cautious revenue guidance of $439 billion for 2026, down from $447.6 billion in 2025.
- Surge in Trading Volume: The stock saw a trading volume of 65.3 million shares, which is over 640% higher than its three-month average of 7.5 million shares, indicating a strong market reaction to the disappointing earnings report.
- Industry Impact: The healthcare sector faced pressure as the government announced plans to limit increases to federal Medicare Advantage plans, causing peers like Elevance Health and Cigna Group to drop 14.33% and 3.68%, respectively.
- Resetting Market Expectations: Investors are recalibrating their expectations for health insurance stocks, as UnitedHealth's multiple challenges may continue to weigh on the sector, particularly with ongoing pressures from Medicare.
Analyst Views on UNH
Wall Street analysts forecast UNH stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for UNH is 397.82 USD with a low forecast of 330.00 USD and a high forecast of 444.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
19 Analyst Rating
16 Buy
3 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 351.640
Low
330.00
Averages
397.82
High
444.00
Current: 351.640
Low
330.00
Averages
397.82
High
444.00
About UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is a healthcare and well-being company. Its segments include Optum Health, Optum Insight, Optum Rx, and UnitedHealthcare, which includes UnitedHealthcare Employer & Individual, UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement and UnitedHealthcare Community & State. Optum Health offers comprehensive and patient-centered care, addressing the physical, mental, social, and financial well-being. Optum Health delivers primary, specialty and surgical care; helps patients and providers navigate and address complex, chronic and behavioral health needs. Optum Insight connects the healthcare system with services, analytics and platforms that make clinical, administrative and financial processes simpler and more efficient for all participants in the healthcare system. Optum Rx offers a range of pharmacy care services through retail pharmacies, through home delivery, specialty and community health pharmacies and the provision of in-home and community-based infusion services.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
