UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares 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

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UNH. Stephens increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 8.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $421.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $520.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $561.26.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

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.