UnitedHealth Stock Testing Key Support as Earnings Loom

UnitedHeath Group Inc (NYSE:UNH) stock is down 0.9% to trade at $372.81, relatively unscathed compared to the blue-chip's tech counterparts today. The insurance giant is down 19% from its July 16 all-time high of $461.62. That three-month slide puts UNH in investors' crosshairs ahead of the company's third-quarter earnings report, due out before the market opens on Oct 13.

UnitedHealth has a rather mixed bag of post-earnings history. The stock has averaged a 3.7% loss after its last 12 quarterly reports, but has finished higher after the last two, including a 7% gap up on April 21. This time around, the options market is pricing in a 7.7% implied post-earnings move, regardless of direction.

The trendline to watch next week is UNH's 160-day moving average, which is being tested right now but hasn't been breached on a closing basis since that April bull gap. Year to date, the shares are up 12.8%, putting the 10% 2026 level in focus as possible support as well. The 370-strike is also home to peak open interest.

Sentiment among options traders is pessimistic. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), UnitedHealth's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 0.76 ranks higher than 92% of annual readings. Echoing this, UNH's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.24 sits higher than 80% of readings from the past year.