How Is Humana Stock Performance Compared to Other Healthcare Services Stocks?

Company Overview - Humana Inc. is a major health-insurance and managed-care company offering a wide range of medical and specialty insurance products across the United States, with a market cap of approximately $30.9 billion [1] Business Segments - Humana operates through two primary business segments: Insurance and CenterWell, providing services such as Medicare and Medicaid plans, supplemental benefit plans, pharmacy benefit management, and senior-centered primary-care services [1] Market Position - Humana is classified as a "large-cap" stock, being one of the largest health insurance providers, particularly strong in the Medicare Advantage market with a significant national footprint [2] Stock Performance - Humana's stock is currently trading 18.5% below its 52-week high of $315.35, which was reached on September 5, and has declined 17.7% over the past three months, underperforming the SPDR S&P Health Care Services ETF (XHS) which gained 9.1% in the same period [3] - Year-to-date, Humana's stock is up 1.3%, significantly lagging behind XHS's 19.7% gains, and has declined 11.8% over the past 52 weeks compared to XHS's 11.2% returns [4] Technical Analysis - The stock has traded largely below the 200-day moving average over the past year, with only brief periods above this line in recent months, and is currently well below both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages [5] Challenges - Humana's weak performance is attributed to ongoing challenges in its Medicare Advantage business, including a significant downgrade in quality ratings for several major MA plans and higher-than-anticipated medical costs, which have pressured profit margins [6] Financial Performance - For Q3 2025, Humana reported an 11.1% year-over-year increase in sales to $32.7 billion, but profits weakened due to rising medical utilization, pushing the adjusted benefit ratio up to 91.1%. Non-GAAP EPS fell 22.1% year-over-year to $3.24 [7] - The company anticipates membership losses of 425,000 in its Medicare Advantage segment for the year and has reaffirmed its 2025 benefit ratio and adjusted EPS guidance of $17, while lowering its GAAP EPS outlook to $12.26 [7] - Following the earnings report, the stock dropped 6% on November 5 and an additional 5.2% the following day [7]