UnitedHealth Downgraded to Neutral Amid Medicare Advantage Challenges

UnitedHealth has been downgraded to Neutral from Buy by BofA analyst Joanna Gajuk following the suspension of its 2025 guidance due to a significant decline in Medicare Advantage trends, especially involving complex dual-eligible cases.

The company plans to grow EPS by 2026 and restore Medicare Advantage margins to 3%-5%, potentially requiring stagnant or declining membership growth to improve margins. Analyst price targets for UnitedHealth vary widely, reflecting uncertainty, with a consensus Outperform rating despite the recent downgrade.