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Investing.com - TD Cowen has reiterated its Hold rating and $275.00 price target on UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH), a prominent healthcare provider with $422.82B in revenue and a market cap of $298.51B, following the healthcare giant’s disclosure of preliminary Medicare Advantage Star ratings data. According to InvestingPro analysis, UNH currently appears undervalued, with a P/E ratio of 13.78 and strong financial health score.
UnitedHealth revealed in an 8-K/A filing that it expects 78% of its membership to be in 4+ Star plans for payment year 2027, which the company noted is consistent with its historical performance. The data remains preliminary and under review by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
The anticipated 78% figure represents a 6% decline from the estimated 84% of membership in 4+ Star plans for 2025, which TD Cowen analysts calculate would result in a "manageable headwind" of less than 1% impact on consensus consolidated FY27 revenue and Medicare Advantage per member per month premium revenue.
UnitedHealth also reaffirmed its prior guidance, including the expected dilutive effect of the AMED acquisition on adjusted earnings per share due to financing and integration costs.
CMS provided Medicare Advantage plans with a second preview of their Star ratings data on September 8, with final Star ratings expected to be publicly disclosed "on or about" October 9, according to TD Cowen’s research note.
In other recent news, UnitedHealth Group has reaffirmed its 2025 earnings outlook during investor meetings. The company disclosed that this outlook includes the effects of its acquisition of Amedisys, which closed in August 2025, and noted that the acquisition is expected to be modestly dilutive to adjusted earnings per share due to financing costs and integration investments. Wolfe Research has reiterated an Outperform rating on UnitedHealth Group, maintaining a price target of $330.00, while noting that the company’s earnings per share guidance is at least $16.00, slightly below consensus expectations of $16.30.
Additionally, two Democratic senators have raised concerns about UnitedHealth’s loan collection practices following a cyberattack in February 2024. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden have sought information from UnitedHealth’s executives about the collection of debts from healthcare providers who received emergency relief loans. Meanwhile, the U.S. government has fallen short of its goal to hire medical coders for auditing Medicare Advantage plans, potentially impacting the timeline for addressing overpayment backlogs. These developments come as UnitedHealth continues to engage with investors and analysts to discuss its strategy and market positions.
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