UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE:UNH) shares are up 9.3% to trade at $353.66 at last glance, following a first-quarter earnings beat of $7.23 per share on revenue of $11.72 billion. The health insurance name also raised its full-year outlook, with CFO Wayne DeVeydt saying that the company is focused on trust, transparency, and a "prudent" approach to 2026.
UnitedHealth stock is leading the broader market to impressive gains right out of the gate. The shares are now back above their year-to-date breakeven mark, trading at the site of late January highs. Although the insurance stock has shed 16% over the last 12 months, April has been a month of outperformance, with today's bull gap the second impressive leap for the stock in the last three weeks.
Analysts have begun to chime in, with Piper Sandler hiking its price target to $430 from $399. Brokerages were bullish heading into today, with 19 of the 26 in coverage sporting a "buy" or better rating, while the average 12-month price target of $365.75 represents a 13% premium to Monday's close.
Options traders are swarming the equity today, with over 113,000 calls and 56,000 puts exchanged so far. This runs at seven times the average intraday rate, with the weekly 4/24 360-strike call and 235-strike put seeing the most attention, with opening activity detected at both.
Finally, the stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) comes in at 97 out of 100. In other words, the shares have consistently realized higher volatility than its options have priced in over the past 12 months.
