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Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Warren Buffett Sparks Massive Rally in Troubled UnitedHealth Stock
Aug 15 - UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) shares soared 10% Friday morning after Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio)'s Berkshire Hathaway revealed a stake of 5 million shares, valued at roughly $1.6 billion. The move sent the stock up 12% in morning trading, marking its best day in five years and adding about 209 points to the Dow Jones Industrial Average at the open. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 5 Warning Sign with UNH. Buffett's vote of confidence comes as UnitedHealth faces a challenging year. The stock had fallen nearly 50% through Thursday, weighed down by rising healthcare costs, a Justice Department investigation into Medicare billing practices, and CEO Andrew Witty's recent departure. The company had also pulled its annual earnings outlook in May, and its updated 2025 guidance fell short of Wall Street estimates. Legendary investors Michael Burry (Trades, Portfolio) and David Tepper (Trades, Portfolio) also disclosed sizable stakes in the insurer, signaling renewed interest in the sector. George Hill, healthcare analyst at Deutsche Bank, commented that Berkshire's investment could act as a near-term trading floor for managed care stocks, reassuring other investors that the space is safe to consider again. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
Boston Globe
4 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Financially strained Brockton Hospital and its parent cut 80 jobs and service lines
Signature said its financial pains are tied not only to the massive fire that shut down Brockton Hospital for more than a year, but also to inadequate Medicaid and Medicare payments that 'have not kept pace with the rising cost of care delivery.' Nearly 80% of Signature's revenue is tied to the federal insurance programs for low-income or disabled adults and for those over 65. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The health care organization, which also owns a physician group, posted a $42 million operating loss in the first half of fiscal year 2025, according to the most recent state data. Brockton Hospital alone lost more than $34 million during that time. Advertisement 'These were extremely difficult decisions that were not made lightly,' Robert Haffey, president and CEO of Signature Healthcare, said in a statement. 'We are deeply grateful for the hard work and commitment of every member of our team.' Advertisement Haffrey's statement said the moves 'are necessary to ensure that we can continue delivering safe, high-quality, and compassionate care to the communities we serve.' Layoffs and unfilled job openings account for the workforce cuts, which did not include bedside positions, Signature vice president of marketing and development Beth MacNeill said. The cuts instead were directed at leadership and administrative positions. Signature will end its bariatric surgery services — a weight-loss procedure — in part because of the MacNeill said that, while Signature is monitoring the looming Medicaid cuts, which could cost Massachusetts providers $3.5 billion, they did not affect the decision to make these recent changes. 'We've been here almost 130 years and our goal is to be here for the long run,' MacNeill said. 'We recognize after the fire how much our community needs us and we need to make sure we're here for them.' Marin Wolf can be reached at
Axios
4 hours ago
- Axios
UnitedHealth is unpopular, but its stock suddenly isn't
UnitedHealth Group's public reputation is still reeling, yet its battered stock has been something that more and more investors can't seem to resist. Why it matters: Recent interest in its stock, from everyday investors to Wall Street's titans, shows that investors have no issues looking past public sentiment when they see a path to share recovery. Catch up quick: Even since the December killing of its top insurance executive, Brian Thompson, UnitedHealth has borne the brunt of a wave of social media outrage over insurers' roles in coverage denials and rising costs — criticism UnitedHealth has insisted is misguided. Still, executives acknowledged in April that the company had an image problem, and needed to communicate better with their customers about its coverage decisions and processes. In May, it pulled its full-year earnings outlook and made a change at CEO. In July, it confirmed an earlier report that the DOJ was looking into its Medicare billing practices, and warned that escalating medical costs would continue to drag down earnings. The impact: Its stock has taken a beating — it's fallen 55% since the public backlash in December. The latest: That slide has drawn the attention of some pretty big investors, most notable among them, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway — which on Thursday disclosed having bought more than 5 million shares in the company as of the end of the June. Berkshire wasn't alone. David Tepper's hedge fund Appaloosa Management and Michael Burry's Scion Assets Management (made famous in "The Big Short") also disclosed having bought positions. That sent UnitedHealth's shares up 12% Friday. Regular investors have been buying in, too. Interactive Brokers listed UnitedHealth as the second largest net buying position on its platform in the first week of August. Charles Schwab listed it as one of the five most popular names among its retail clients in July, among Nvidia, Tesla, Palantir and Amazon.
