The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights UnitedHealth, Centene and Molina Healthcare

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – May 21, 2025 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: UnitedHealth Group Inc. UNH, Centene Corp. CNC and Molina Healthcare, Inc. MOH.

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

This Is Why UnitedHealth Stock Bounced Back, But Better to Avoid

UnitedHealth Group Inc.missed first-quarter earnings expectations, withdrew full-year guidance, and faces legal challenges. However, Insider confidence has lately improved share performance. So, shall we consider investing in the UnitedHealth stock, given recent positive developments? Let's see –

Why Did UnitedHealth Stock Jump Yesterday?

On Monday, UnitedHealth Group's shares rose 8.2% to close at $315.89, following a 23% decline last week. In yesterday's trading session, UnitedHealth stock was the top gainer on both the S&P 500 and the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average.

UnitedHealth's CEO, Stephen Hemsley, along with four other insiders, purchased shares of the struggling healthcare insurance giant, boosting its stock. On Friday, Hemsley bought $25 million worth of UnitedHealth stock, acquiring 86,700 shares at an average price of $288.57 per share, according to the SEC Form 4 filing. Before this transaction, Hemsley held roughly 1.2 million shares of UNH.

UnitedHealth's CFO, John Rex, purchased around $5 million of the company's stock, equal to 17,175 shares, at an average price of $291.11. Timothy Flynn, John Noseworthy, and Kristen Gil, all current directors at UnitedHealth Group, also bought shares.

What Plagued UnitedHealth Stock This Year?

UnitedHealth Group is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for potential Medicare Advantage billing fraud. UnitedHealth is known for providing Medicare Advantage to the elderly. However, the company's finances suffered due to higher-than-expected costs of new Medicare Advantage participants.

UnitedHealth's business model, in itself, is under pressure after management suspended its 2025 outlook. Hemsley resumed his previous role as CEO, held from 2006 to 2017. CEO Andrew Witty stepped down for personal reasons.

Anyhow, UnitedHealth's operating expenses rose 9.4% year over year in the first quarter of 2025 and are showing no signs of decreasing. This may put pressure on the company's margins in the coming days. UnitedHealth is also dealing with high interest expenses and continued to carry a debt burden of $71.3 billion as of March 31, 2025.

All these factors have negatively impacted UnitedHealth's stock, which is down 37.9% this year. On the contrary, its top peers, including Centene Corp. and Molina Healthcare, Inc., have seen their shares gain 1.6% and 11.8%, respectively, year to date.

Here's How to Trade UNH Stock Now

No doubt, the directors' purchasing shares of UnitedHealth may indicate that they are confident about the company's well-being. Insider buying indicates a belief in the company resolving its issues promptly. However, the challenges facing UnitedHealth, such as regulatory scrutiny and cost pressures, may impact its business model for some time. Investors should exercise caution about investing in UnitedHealth stock currently.

Moreover, the UnitedHealth stock is at the moment trading below both the short-term 50-day moving average (DMA) and long-term 200-DMA, indicating a bearish trend. This suggests that it's wise to avoid investing in UNH stock for now.

Presently, UnitedHealth stock has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $23.70 for UNH's earnings per share (EPS) is down by 23.3% from a year ago. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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