The FTC sued UnitedHealth Group's Optum unit, CVS Caremark and Cigna's Express Scripts for allegedly steering diabetes patients towards higher priced insulin.
With expansion into targeted markets and strategic diversification, UNH still has significant growth potential left.
Recently, Zacks.com users have been paying close attention to UnitedHealth (UNH). This makes it worthwhile to examine what the stock has in store.
Smaller rivals to UnitedHealth's tech unit Change Healthcare say they are signing longer-term contracts with hospitals and other customers who had temporarily switched from the company after February's cyberattack shut down the unit's services.
UnitedHealth was our top pick for 2024 due to its strong operating plan and attractive valuation. Despite trailing the S&P 500 by 11%, the stock's long-term potential remains as industry headwinds, like Medicaid and Medicare slowdowns, ease into 2025. UNH's large size and data advantages enable cost-savings and better patient outcomes, making it a strong investment amid rising competitive pressures and regulatory scrutiny.
In the latest trading session, UnitedHealth Group (UNH) closed at $589.14, marking a -0.87% move from the previous day.
UnitedHealth's aggressive M&A strategy, including the $13 billion acquisition of Change Healthcare, has strengthened its data analytics and improved margins, justifying a 'Strong Buy' rating. Despite a major cyberattack, UnitedHealth's financial impact is manageable, with expected EPS reduction and increased CAPEX for cybersecurity enhancements. UnitedHealth's divestiture of its Brazilian business reduces FX risk, aligning with its focus on U.S. market growth driven by rising healthcare spending.
UnitedHealth stock (NYSE: UNH) has gained 80% in value since early January 2021 – jumping from levels of $335 then to around $600 now – vs. an increase of about 45% for the S&P 500 over this period.
UnitedHealth Group remains a solid buy-and-hold type of stock for the long-term dividend growth investor. Shares have recently touched a new all-time high; despite that, based on earnings growth going forward, the share price doesn't look overvalued here. Consistent earnings beats could suggest that the shares are also on the cheaper end based on the fair value range, with a chance for double-digit dividend growth to continue.
UnitedHealth Group said on Tuesday it will remove AbbVie's blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira from some of its lists of preferred drugs for reimbursement as of Jan. 1, 2025, and recommend less expensive biosimilar versions of the medicine instead.
UnitedHealth Group (UNH) concluded the recent trading session at $594.10, signifying a -0.47% move from its prior day's close.
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