UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $351.64, but opened at $293.97. UnitedHealth Group shares last traded at $288.8780, with a volume of 22,890,586 shares trading hands.

Trending Headlines about UnitedHealth Group

Here are the key news stories impacting UnitedHealth Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat on EPS and segment strength — UnitedHealth slightly beat EPS expectations and Optum Rx was called out as a growth driver, supporting near-term earnings resilience. UnitedHealth Q4 Earnings Beat on Strong Optum Rx, Offers 2026 Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns and turnaround narrative — analysts and MarketBeat note buybacks and a secure dividend, framing the pullback as a buying opportunity for long-term investors if management executes the turnaround. Trump Triggers Buying Opportunity in UnitedHealth Group
• Neutral Sentiment: Management stance and full release — company press materials and the earnings call outline progress on cost controls and a modest profit outlook, but include caveats and one-offs that leave guidance mixed. Review the full release and transcript for details. UnitedHealth Group Reports 2025 Results and Issues 2026 Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Medicare Advantage rate proposal hit — a Trump administration proposal to keep Medicare Advantage payments roughly flat (headline ~0.09%) shocked expectations and pressured UNH and peers, triggering broad selling across insurers. Trump Administration proposes keeping steady Medicare rates paid to insurers, WSJ reports
• Negative Sentiment: Weak 2026 revenue outlook — UNH guided to roughly $439B of revenue for 2026 (implying about a 2% decline year?over?year), well below consensus, which is a principal driver of today’s sharp decline. UnitedHealth shares plunge on weak guidance, quarterly revenue miss
• Negative Sentiment: One?time charges and restructuring — a reported ~$1.6B restructuring hit weighed on Q4 results and raises near-term execution risk as the company right?sizes operations. UnitedHealth Takes $1.6 Billion Hit To Earnings Amid Restructuring
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and sector spillover — the stock’s plunge erased tens of billions in market value and dragged health-care ETFs and the Dow, amplifying volatility and prompting short-term selling pressure. ETFs in focus: UnitedHealth Group selloff ripples across health care funds

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on UNH shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $433.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $267.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $378.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $386.33.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 19.6%

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $332.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $323.96. The stock has a market cap of $256.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.02. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 4.04%.During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.81 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.750- EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were issued a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 46.14%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of UNH. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,766,922 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,516,107,000 after buying an additional 3,439,182 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,312,182 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,624,411,000 after purchasing an additional 675,075 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,499,949 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,042,710,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747,337 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 126.9% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,042,049 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,503,419,000 after buying an additional 7,293,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,837,207,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Inc is a diversified health care company headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, that operates two primary business platforms: UnitedHealthcare and Optum. Founded in 1977, the company provides a broad range of health benefits and health care services to individuals, employers, governmental entities and other organizations. Its operations span commercial employer-sponsored plans, individual and Medicare and Medicaid programs, and services for customers and health systems in the United States and selected international markets.

UnitedHealthcare is the company’s benefits business, administering health plans and networks, managing provider relationships, and offering coverage products for employers, individuals, and government-sponsored programs.