Latest news with #LanceWilkes
Business Insider
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
UnitedHealth Stock (UNH) Faces Divided Analyst Opinions After Q2 Results
UnitedHealth Group (UNH) stock is down 5% on Tuesday after missing analyst estimates for Q2. However, the company reinstated full-year guidance and offered a clearer view of its outlook for 2025 and 2026. Following the release, several analysts offered mixed reactions to the earnings report, but they see potential for recovery in 2026. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Mizuho and Bernstein Analysts Remain Bullish Analyst Ann Hynes from Mizuho praised the company's transparency on 2025 and 2026 expectations. She noted that cost pressures are expected to continue, especially in Medicaid and Medicare Advantage, where expenses are rising faster than expected. The five-star analyst forecasts mid-single-digit growth in 2026 and possibly low double-digit growth in 2027. Overall, she maintained a Buy rating and $350 price target on UnitedHealth stock. Similarly, analyst Lance Wilkes from Bernstein said the company is working to rebuild investor confidence and reduce uncertainty. He believes UnitedHealth's strong market position will support a return to solid earnings growth, especially as trends in Medicare Advantage pricing and usage improve. For 2025, he sees EPS guidance between $20 and $21, and for 2026, possibly 15% growth, which could bring the company back to its long-term goal of 13% to 16% annual growth. Wilkes kept a Buy rating and $377 price target on the stock. BofA Analyst Lowers Price Target for UNH Stock Analyst Kevin Fischbeck from BofA Securities lowered the price target to $300 from $350 but kept a Hold rating. He noted that the company is focusing on better execution, but believes progress may be slower than expected. Fischbeck said that UnitedHealth was transparent about its segment margins and challenges, which helps investors understand the business better. However, he remains cautious as the company did not fully confirm its long-term growth target. Is UNH a Good Buy Right Now? average UnitedHealth stock price target implies a 30.46% upside potential.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Top Analyst Calls UnitedHealth a 'Top Pick' Ahead of Earnings
July 22 - UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) has tumbled roughly 42% year?to?date, driven by rising Medicare Advantage costs, a surprise CEO exit, withdrawn guidance and a Department of Justice probe. However, ahead of its July 29 Q2 earnings, Bernstein analyst Lance Wilkes tapped UNH as a 'Top Pick,' saying the pullback creates an attractive entry point. He noted the stock trades at about 13.5 times forward earnings, below its ten?year average. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Sign with UNH. Wilkes cut his 2025 EPS estimate by 10% to reflect reserve strengthening and cost pressures in individual and Medicaid segments, plus a cleanup of OptumHealth risk contracts. Yet he projects earnings per share could double by 2029, implying a 19% compound annual growth rate. The analyst expects cost normalization to begin in Medicaid in Q3 and in Medicare Advantage in early 2026 as utilization patterns stabilize. He also highlighted a hardening pricing environment for government managed?care plans as a margin tailwind. Is UNH Stock a Buy? Based on the one year price targets offered by 24 analysts, the average target price for UnitedHealth Group Inc is $375.46 with a high estimate of $677.00 and a low estimate of $270.00. The average target implies a upside of +33.08% from the current price of $282.14. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
22-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
RBC Capital Reaffirms Their Buy Rating on Elevance Health (ELV)
RBC Capital analyst Ben Hendrix maintained a Buy rating on Elevance Health yesterday and set a price target of $311.00. The company's shares closed yesterday at $276.45. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week. Hendrix covers the Healthcare sector, focusing on stocks such as Cigna, Elevance Health, and HCA Healthcare. According to TipRanks, Hendrix has an average return of 1.6% and a 46.08% success rate on recommended stocks. In addition to RBC Capital, Elevance Health also received a Buy from Bernstein's Lance Wilkes in a report issued yesterday. However, on the same day, Argus Research downgraded Elevance Health (NYSE: ELV) to a Hold. Based on Elevance Health's latest earnings release for the quarter ending June 30, the company reported a quarterly revenue of $60.04 billion and a net profit of $2.28 billion. In comparison, last year the company earned a revenue of $43.65 billion and had a net profit of $2.3 billion Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 38 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is neutral on the stock. Most recently, in April 2025, Mark Kaye, the EVP & CFO of ELV sold 4,588.00 shares for a total of $1,949,074.16.
Business Insider
17-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Bernstein Keeps Their Buy Rating on Centene (CNC)
In a report released yesterday, Lance Wilkes from Bernstein maintained a Buy rating on Centene, with a price target of $40.00. The company's shares closed yesterday at $30.41. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week. According to TipRanks, Wilkes is an analyst with an average return of -4.9% and a 37.50% success rate. Wilkes covers the Healthcare sector, focusing on stocks such as UnitedHealth, Centene, and Humana. Currently, the analyst consensus on Centene is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $52.08, which is a 71.26% upside from current levels. In a report released yesterday, Truist Financial also maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a $42.00 price target.
Business Insider
17-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Bernstein Keeps Their Hold Rating on HCA Healthcare (HCA)
Bernstein analyst Lance Wilkes maintained a Hold rating on HCA Healthcare yesterday and set a price target of $404.00. The company's shares closed yesterday at $362.58. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week. According to TipRanks, Wilkes is an analyst with an average return of -4.9% and a 37.50% success rate. Wilkes covers the Healthcare sector, focusing on stocks such as UnitedHealth, Centene, and Humana. HCA Healthcare has an analyst consensus of Moderate Buy, with a price target consensus of $397.70, representing a 9.69% upside. In a report released yesterday, Bank of America Securities also downgraded the stock to a Hold with a $394.00 price target. Based on HCA Healthcare's latest earnings release for the quarter ending March 31, the company reported a quarterly revenue of $18.32 billion and a net profit of $1.61 billion. In comparison, last year the company earned a revenue of $17.34 billion and had a net profit of $1.59 billion Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 59 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is negative on the stock. This means that over the past quarter there has been an increase of insiders selling their shares of HCA in relation to earlier this year. Most recently, in May 2025, Jon Foster, the EVP & COO of HCA sold 15,698.00 shares for a total of $5,797,585.36.
