BUZZ-Street View: UnitedHealth Group looks resilient despite higher medical costs

Reuters

Jan 17, 2025

BUZZ-Street View: UnitedHealth Group looks resilient despite higher medical costs

** UnitedHealth Group UNH.N reported fourth-quarter profit on Thursday that beat analysts' estimates

** However, UNH posted annual medical care ratio - percentage of premiums spent on medical care - of 85.5%, compared to expectation of 84.96%

MEDICAL COSTS A CONCERN

** BofA Global Research ("buy," PT: $675) says UNH has strong position vs Medicare Advantage peers; sees more potential for MLR recovery in 2026

** Oppenheimer ("outperform," PT: $640) says UNH's stock performance should improve, but rising medical costs could be a hurdle

** Leerink Partners ("outperform," PT: $675) says, "our thesis remains anchored to diminishing controversies with accelerating growth and margin expansion into 2026 against a less bad Medical Advantage backdrop"

** RBC ("outperform," PT: $655) says cost trend increase is largely one-time, while outlook for healthcare service utilization is stabilizing

(Reporting by Rashika Singh in Bengaluru)

((rashika.singh@thomsonreuters.com))

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sees more potential for MLR recovery in 2026</p><p>** Oppenheimer (\"outperform,\" PT: $640) says UNH's stock performance should improve, but rising medical costs could be a hurdle</p><p>** Leerink Partners (\"outperform,\" PT: $675) says, \"our thesis remains anchored to diminishing controversies with accelerating growth and margin expansion into 2026 against a less bad Medical Advantage backdrop\"</p><p>** RBC (\"outperform,\" PT: $655) says cost trend increase is largely one-time, while outlook for healthcare service utilization is stabilizing</p><p> (Reporting by Rashika Singh in Bengaluru)</p><p> ((rashika.singh@thomsonreuters.com))</p></body></html>\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","isBrief":false,"type":0,"news_type":1,"symbol":"LU0158827948.USD","symbol_name":"ALLIANZ GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY \"A\" (USD) INC","start_time":0,"source_url":"https://api.refinitiv.com/data/news/v1/stories/urn:newsml:reuters.com:20250117:nL4N3OD111:1","article_id":"2504641201","we_media_id":"1032215980","thumbnails":[],"rights":null,"url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=2504641201","pubTimestamp":1737125304,"columns":[],"sourceInfo":null,"weMediaInfo":{"media_name":"Reuters","introduction":"Reuters.com brings you the latest news from around the world, covering breaking news in markets, business, politics, entertainment and technology","home_visible":1,"id":"1032215980","head_image":"https://community-static.tradeup.com/news/4567337cbdf294b657b1fa87c5488b48"},"summary":"BUZZ-Street View: UnitedHealth Group looks resilient despite higher medical costs** UnitedHealth Group UNH.N reported fourth-quarter profit on Thursday that beat analysts' estimates** However, UNH posted annual medical care ratio - percentage of premiums spent on medical care - of 85.5%, compared to expectation of 84.96%MEDICAL COSTS A CONCERN** BofA Global Research  says UNH has strong position vs Medicare Advantage peers; sees more potential for MLR recovery in 2026** Oppenheimer  says UNH's stock performance should improve, but rising medical costs could be a hurdle** Leerink Partners  says, \"our thesis remains anchored to diminishing controversies with accelerating growth and margin expansion into 2026 against a less bad Medical Advantage backdrop\"** RBC  says cost trend increase is largely one-time, while outlook for healthcare service utilization is stabilizing  ","collect":0,"end_time":0,"defaultTopTitle":"","property":[],"viewcount":null,"language":"en","relate_stocks":{"LU0158827948.USD":"ALLIANZ GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY \"A\" (USD) INC","IE00BJJMRY28.SGD":"Janus Henderson Balanced A Inc SGD","LU1674673691.USD":"HSBC GIF GLOBAL LOWER CARBON EQUITY \"AD\" (USD) INC","SG9999014898.SGD":"United Global Quality Growth Fund Dis SGD","LU0672654240.SGD":"FTIF - Franklin US Opportunities A Acc SGD-H1","LU0965509283.SGD":"AB LOW VOLATILITY EQUITY PORTFOLIO \"AD\" (SGDHDG) INC","LU2089984988.USD":"MANULIFE GF HEALTHCARE \"AA\" (USD) ACC","LU1003077747.HKD":"BGF GLOBAL EQUITY INCOME \"A6\" (HKDHDG) INC","LU1674673428.USD":"HSBC GIF GLOBAL LOWER CARBON EQUITY \"AC\" (USD) ACC","SG9999014914.USD":"UNITED GLOBAL QUALITY GROWTH (USDHDG) INC","IE00BZ9MQY76.HKD":"FTGF CLEARBRIDGE US AGGRESSIVE GROWTH \"A\" (HKD) ACC","LU2362541513.USD":"WELLINGTON NEXT GENERATION GLOBAL EQUITY \"A\" (USD) ACC","LU1934455194.USD":"AB SICAV I LOW VOLATILITY TOTAL RETURN EQUITY PORT \"A\" (USD) ACC","LU0094547139.USD":"abrdn SICAV I - GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE EQUITY FUND \"A\" (USD) ACC","LU1718418525.SGD":"JPMorgan Investment Funds - Global Select Equity A (acc) SGD","SG9999002224.SGD":"Allianz Global High Payout SGD","IE00B19Z3581.USD":"Legg Mason ClearBridge - Value A Acc USD","LU1323610961.USD":"UBS (LUX) EQUITY SICAV - LONG TERM THEMES (USD) \"P\" (USD) ACC","LU0417517546.SGD":"Allianz US Equity Cl AT Acc SGD","LU0708995401.HKD":"FRANKLIN U.S. OPPORTUNITIES \"A\" (HKD) ACC","LU1551013342.USD":"Allianz Income and Growth Cl AMg2 DIS USD","LU1061106388.HKD":"BGF WORLD HEALTHSCIENCE \"A2\" (HKDHDG) ACC","LU1934455863.HKD":"AB SICAV I LOW VOLATILITY TOTAL RETURN EQUITY PORT \"A\" (HKD) ACC","LU2133065610.SGD":"JPMorgan Investment Funds - Global Dividend A (mth) SGD","LU2347655156.SGD":"JPMorgan Investment Funds - Global Income A (icdiv) SGD-H","LU0965509101.SGD":"AB LOW VOLATILITY EQUITY PORTFOLIO \"A\" (SGDHDG) ACC","IE00B19Z3B42.SGD":"Legg Mason ClearBridge - Value A Acc SGD","IE00B19Z8X17.USD":"FTGF CLEARBRIDGE US LARGE CAP GROWTH  \"AG\" (USD) ACC","LU0029864427.USD":"TEMPLETON GLOBAL \"A\" (USD) INC","SGXZ51526630.SGD":"大华环球创新基金A Acc SGD","LU0128525929.USD":"TEMPLETON GLOBAL \"A\" (USD) ACC","LU1983299246.USD":"SCHRODER ISF HEALTHCARE INNOVATION \"A\" (USD) ACC","LU0823416689.USD":"BNP PARIBAS HEALTH CARE INNOVATORS \"C\" (USD) ACC","LU1854103824.USD":"M&G (LUX) POSITIVE IMPACT \"A\" (USD) INC","SGXZ57979304.SGD":"United Global Healthcare A Acc SGD-H","LU1814569148.SGD":"WELLINGTON GLOBAL QUALITY GROWTH \"D\" (SGDHDG) ACC","LU1064131342.USD":"Fullerton Lux Funds - Global Absolute Alpha A Acc USD","LU0820562030.AUD":"ALLIANZ INCOME AND GROWTH \"AMH2\" (AUDHDG) H2 INC","LU1778281490.HKD":"HSBC GIF GLOBAL LOWER CARBON EQUITY \"AD\" (HKD) INC","IE00BN29S564.USD":"JANUS HENDERSON BALANCED \"A3\" (USD) INC","IE00BKPKM429.USD":"NEUBERGER BERMAN GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE EQUITY \"A\" (USD) ACC","SGXZ31699556.SGD":"UGDP UNITED GLOBAL QUALITY GROWTH \"C\" (SGDHDG) ACC","LU1988902786.USD":"FULLERTON LUX FUNDS GLOBAL ABSOLUTE ALPHA \"I\" (USD) ACC","LU0211327993.USD":"TEMPLETON GLOBAL EQUITY INCOME \"A\" (USD) ACC","LU0053666078.USD":"摩根大通基金-美国股票A（离岸）美元","IE0004445015.USD":"JANUS HENDERSON BALANCED \"A2\" (USD) ACC","LU0496365809.HKD":"TEMPLETON GLOBAL INCOME \"A\" (HKD) INC (Q)","UNH":"联合健康","LU1496350502.SGD":"FRANKLIN DIVERSIFIED DYNAMIC \"A\" (SGDHDG) ACC","LU1069347547.HKD":"AB SICAV I - GLOBAL VALUE PORTFOLIO \"AD\" (HKD) INC"},"translate_title":"BUZZ街景：尽管医疗成本较高，联合健康集团看起来仍具有弹性","themeId":null,"isJumpTheme":false,"ttsUrl":null,"symbols_score_info":{"UNH":0.9},"content_text":"BUZZ-Street View: UnitedHealth Group looks resilient despite higher medical costs** UnitedHealth Group UNH.N reported fourth-quarter profit on Thursday that beat analysts' estimates** However, UNH posted annual medical care ratio - percentage of premiums spent on medical care - of 85.5%, compared to expectation of 84.96%MEDICAL COSTS A CONCERN** BofA Global Research (\"buy,\" PT: $675) says UNH has strong position vs Medicare Advantage peers; sees more potential for MLR recovery in 2026** Oppenheimer (\"outperform,\" PT: $640) says UNH's stock performance should improve, but rising medical costs could be a hurdle** Leerink Partners (\"outperform,\" PT: $675) says, \"our thesis remains anchored to diminishing controversies with accelerating growth and margin expansion into 2026 against a less bad Medical Advantage backdrop\"** RBC (\"outperform,\" PT: $655) says cost trend increase is largely one-time, while outlook for healthcare service utilization is stabilizing (Reporting by Rashika Singh in Bengaluru) ((rashika.singh@thomsonreuters.com))","kind":"highlight","is_publish_news":true,"is_publish_highlight":false,"is_publish_live":false,"is_publish_wemedia":null,"editions":null,"column":"","sentiment":"0","news_tag":"","news_rank":0,"symbols":[],"gpt_button":0,"need_auth":false,"code":"91000000","status":"200"}}}