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In November 2024, UnitedHealth Group's (UNH) stock appeared to be on an unstoppable upward trajectory, reaching an all-time high of $625 per share.
It had seemingly survived the largest cyberattack in healthcare history and overcame two years of elevated Medicare Advantage costs — a headwind that plagued the entire insurance industry last year. "The stock shakes off almost every fundamental issue/set-back and still manages to outperform most peers," wrote Mizuho healthcare equity strategist Jared Holz in a note to clients on Nov. 10, 2024.
The next day, the company reached its all-time high of $625 per share and a market cap of $575 billion.
Six months later, that has all come crashing down. The megacap was trading at about half its November share price, at $311 per share Monday, and now has a market cap of just $286 billion.
The losses weighed heavily on indexes last week, and UnitedHealth was blamed for dragging down both the Dow and the S&P healthcare subsector.
So, how did the company that was riding high — boasting 10% of all physicians in the US having ties to its OptumHealth business and projected to be the first trillion-dollar healthcare company by market cap — spiral in just a matter of six months?
What caused the spectacular sell-off is a confluence of factors that began with the cyberattack. Here's a brief timeline of key events that caused the stock to slip:
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Feb. 2024: Change Healthcare subsidiary cyberattack halts payments to providers.
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July 2024: UnitedHealth forecasts a greater-than-expected hit from the cyberattack.
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Dec. 2024: Insurance CEO Brian Thompson killed on investor day in New York City.
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April 2024: UHG misses earnings, stock drops 20%.
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May 2025: CEO shake-up; Department of Justice is reportedly pursuing a criminal investigation of UHG's Medicare Advantage practices.
The first hit in Feb. 2024, when the cyberattack halted a key payment system for health providers around the country, prompted a US Health Department (HHS) investigation, a congressional inquiry, and a need for the federal government to step in to help process Medicare and Medicaid payments for several months.
Initially, UnitedHealth denied that patient information had been breached in the attack. It later admitted that the breach affected 190 million patients and forecast a greater financial burden from the attack. Investors continued to sell the stock, but some believed it would recover and was worth buying.
"The impact ($0.80/share) is being absorbed by UNH's pricing power and cost-cutting measures. [UNH] boosted reserves by $800 million post-attack," according to Shams Afzal, managing director and portfolio manager at Carnegie Investment Counsel, in a note in June.
