UNH Stock Soars as UnitedHealth Earnings Exceed Expectations Again
UnitedHealth Group (UNH) stock has seen significant growth over the past six months, climbing 38.6% since early March to reach a close of $401 on September 3.
This surge is attributed to two consecutive quarters of earnings beats, which have helped to erase much of the guidance-cut damage from last year.
On April 21, UnitedHealth reported first-quarter adjusted earnings of $7.23 a share against an estimate of $6.57, with revenue of $111.7 billion beating the $109.57 billion Street model. Three months later, the company followed up with second-quarter adjusted earnings of $6.38 a share, up from $4.08 a year earlier.
The medical care ratio, which measures the share of premiums spent on patient care, fell to 86.7% from 89.4%, and management raised full-year adjusted earnings per share guidance again, to a range of $19.50 to $20.