Managed care needs to improve to improve health care sector, says Mizuho's Jared Holz

Healthcare Sector Performance - Healthcare sector has underperformed the S&P by 25 percentage points over the past year, with the sector down 11% while the S&P gained 14% [1] - Healthcare sector has only outperformed when the overall market was down [2] - In 2022 and 2023, the healthcare sector underperformed the market by over 20% annually [8] Challenges in Specific Areas - Large cap pharma is facing issues [3] - Managed care companies like Centene, Molina, and Elevance have experienced significant challenges [3] - UnitedHealth Group, one of the largest healthcare companies, has lost 50% of its market capitalization this year [5] - Higher utilization in the system, particularly in Medicaid, is a headwind [5][6] - Potential changes to Obamacare and Medicaid coverage are creating uncertainty [7] Potential Investment Opportunities - Some investors are starting to see the current situation as a potential entry point [7] - The question remains whether these stocks are value stocks or value traps [8] - Need to see numbers reset and Medicare/Medicaid rates reestablished [9] - Procedure volume backdrop needs to improve [9]