UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $502.42, but opened at $439.55. UnitedHealth Group shares last traded at $458.21, with a volume of 6,991,891 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $520.37 and its 200 day moving average is $561.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $421.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.83 EPS. On average, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

About UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; health care coverage, and health and well-being services to individuals age 50 and older addressing their needs; Medicaid plans, children's health insurance and health care programs; and health and dental benefits, and hospital and clinical services, as well as health care benefits products and services to state programs caring for the economically disadvantaged, medically underserved, and those without the benefit of employer-funded health care coverage.