UnitedHealth's share price halved in half a year, and its deep trouble triggered a market sell-off.
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UnitedHealth Group (UNH), the largest health insurance company in the United States, suffered a sharp market sell-off, plunging 19% intraday on May 15 and finally closing down 10.93%. The trading volume of the day was enlarged to about 120 million shares, and funds were withdrawn on a large scale.
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Chart source: mitrade
According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Department of Justice is opening a criminal investigation into UnitedHealth's health insurance business for allegedly fraudulently claiming benefits to the Medicare insurance system.
Although the investigation is still hearsay, market concerns have caused the stock price to fluctuate wildly. Susannah Streeter, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, noted that UNH has fallen into "a crisis that seems to have no end in sight" and investors should be prepared for more violent shocks.
In addition, the sudden change in management and the withdrawal of the company's earnings forecast also made it difficult for investors. On May 13, UnitedHealth announced that current CEO Andrew Witty (Andrew Witty) has resigned immediately for personal reasons.
Under the negative impact of many consecutive days, UNH shares have fallen for seven consecutive trading days, with a cumulative decline of more than 24%. In November 2024, the stock price hit an all-time high of more than $610, but by mid-May 2025, it had fallen below $300, a cumulative decline of more than half of the total.
Investopedia noted that the stock plunged more than 20% in a single day last month due to a downward revision to its earnings forecast, and it has now been on a two-week decline. However, there is also a view that the current valuation has been significantly revised downward, and the market sentiment is overly pessimistic. If future investigations are not hindered and costs are properly controlled, there may be a chance for a technical rebound in the short term.
According to public data, UnitedHealth's current price-to-earnings ratio is about 12.9 times, which is a significant discount from its historical high, or has a certain medium- to long-term attractiveness.
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