UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: Here's Why

Company Performance - UnitedHealth Group (UNH) shares closed at $278.58, reflecting a -4.76% change from the previous day's closing price, underperforming the S&P 500's 0.07% gain [1] - Over the last month, UNH shares decreased by 3.15%, while the Medical sector gained 2.39% and the S&P 500 increased by 5.71% [1] Upcoming Earnings - The upcoming earnings report for UnitedHealth Group is expected on July 29, 2025, with analysts predicting earnings of $4.84 per share, representing a year-over-year decline of 28.82% [2] - Revenue is anticipated to be $111.55 billion, indicating a 12.84% increase from the same quarter last year [2] Annual Estimates - For the annual period, Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $21.15 per share and revenue of $448.53 billion, reflecting changes of -23.54% and +12.06% respectively from the previous year [3] Analyst Estimates - Recent adjustments to analyst estimates for UnitedHealth Group are noteworthy, as they often indicate changing near-term business trends [4] - Positive revisions in estimates suggest analysts' confidence in the company's performance and profit potential [4] Stock Performance Correlation - Empirical research shows a direct correlation between revisions in estimates and stock price performance, leading to the development of the Zacks Rank model [5] Zacks Rank - The Zacks Rank system ranges from 1 (Strong Buy) to 5 (Strong Sell), with 1 stocks historically returning an average of +25% annually since 1988 [6] - Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate for UnitedHealth Group has decreased by 4.19%, resulting in a current Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) [6] Valuation Metrics - UnitedHealth Group is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 13.83, which is a premium compared to the industry average Forward P/E of 12.94 [7] - The company has a PEG ratio of 1.45, compared to the industry average PEG ratio of 1.05 [7] Industry Context - The Medical - HMOs industry, part of the Medical sector, has a Zacks Industry Rank of 237, placing it in the bottom 5% of over 250 industries [8] - The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the strength of industry groups based on the average Zacks Rank of individual stocks within those groups [8]