UnitedHealth Group Sees Stock Decline Despite Strong Revenue Growth
Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH) operates as a diversified healthcare company. With a market capitalization of $426.6 billion, UnitedHealth offers a wide array of healthcare products and services. The company functions through its segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx.
As a “large-cap stock,” UnitedHealth exceeds the $10 billion valuation that categorizes these significant market players. This positioning reflects both the size and influence of the company within the healthcare plans industry, which serves millions and employs hundreds of thousands globally.
Despite its robust fundamentals, UnitedHealth’s stock has declined by 25.7% since reaching an all-time high of $630.73 on November 11, 2024. Over the past three months, the stock has dropped nearly 23%, notably underperforming the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV), which gained 18 basis points in the same timeframe.
UnitedHealth Group has also lagged behind the healthcare sector over the longer term. Over the past year, UNH stock has decreased by 8.7%, with a 7.4% decline on a year-to-date (YTD) basis. In contrast, XLV experienced a minor 33 basis point increase over the last year and a 7% gain in 2025.
Furthermore, UNH stock has consistently stayed below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages since early December, exhibiting minor fluctuations within this downward trend.
The stock took a further hit with over a 6% drop following the release of mixed Q4 results on January 16. Although the company reported a noteworthy 6.8% year-over-year growth in total revenues, totaling $100.8 billion, it fell short of analysts’ expectations, which negatively impacted investor confidence. On a positive note, UnitedHealth reported a 10.6% year-over-year growth in adjusted earnings to $6.81 per share, surpassing consensus estimates by 1.5%.
Looking ahead, UnitedHealth has provided an encouraging full-year revenue guidance of $450 billion to $455 billion for fiscal 2025, indicating a projected topline growth of 12.4% to 13.7% compared to the previous year.
When compared to its competitor Elevance Health, Inc. (ELV), UnitedHealth has significantly outperformed, as Elevance’s stock has declined by 22.6% over the past year. However, UNH has trailed behind Elevance’s 6.5% YTD gains.
Currently, UNH holds a consensus “Strong Buy” rating among the 24 analysts covering the stock. The analysts’ average price target of $639.21 indicates a potential 36.4% upside from current price levels.
On the date of publication, Aditya Sarawgi did not hold (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. The information provided is solely for informational purposes. For more details, please refer to the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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