UnitedHealth Group Stock Is Getting Crushed: What's Fueling The Selloff?

UnitedHealth Group Inc UNH shares are trading lower Monday on continued downside momentum from disappointing earnings last week. Multiple analysts also slashed price targets following the company’s quarterly results.

What Happened: UnitedHealth reported first-quarter revenue of $109.58 billion, missing analyst estimates of $111.6 billion, according to Benzinga Pro. The company reported first-quarter adjusted earnings of $7.20 per share, missing estimates of $7.29 per share.

UnitedHealth also cut its full-year 2025 outlook due to rising medical costs. The health insurer now expects full-year adjusted earnings of $26 to $26.50 per share, down from its prior outlook of $29.50 to $30 per share. Analysts had been expecting full-year earnings of $29.73 per share, according to Benzinga Pro estimates.

“UnitedHealth Group grew to serve more people more comprehensively but did not perform up to our expectations, and we are aggressively addressing those challenges to position us well for the years ahead, and return to our long-term earnings growth rate target of 13 to 16%,” said Andrew Witty, CEO of UnitedHealth.

On the conference call following the print, Witty noted that health care in the U.S. is more expensive than it should be. He told investors and analysts that even common procedures can cost up to four times more in the U.S. than in other countries.

“It’s simply not sustainable,” Witty said.

Related Link: Stock Of The Day – Where Will The UnitedHealth Selloff End?

Analyst Changes:

• Oppenheimer analyst Michael Wiederhorn maintained UnitedHealth with an Outperform and lowered the price target from $640 to $600.

• Raymond James analyst John Ransom reiterated UnitedHealth with a Strong Buy and cut the price target from $635 to $540.

• Keybanc analyst Tim Rezvan maintained UnitedHealth with an Overweight and cut the price target from $650 to $575.

• Barclays analyst Andrew Mok maintained UnitedHealth with an Overweight and cut the price target from $642 to $560.

UNH Price Action: UnitedHealth Group shares closed the previous trading session down 22%. The stock was down another 5.09% at $431.00 at the time of publication Monday, per Benzinga Pro.

Photo: JHVEPhoto/Shutterstock.