Morgan Stanley has adjusted its outlook for UnitedHealth Group (UNH, Financial), reducing the target price to $563 from the previous $664 while maintaining an Overweight rating on the stock. This adjustment follows a notable 12% reduction in the company's 2025 earnings per share (EPS) target, which has prompted skepticism about the defensive strengths of the managed care organization (MCO) sector that investors have leaned on throughout the year.
The analyst at Morgan Stanley emphasized that despite the disappointing revision, there are specific factors within UnitedHealth that could be addressed, potentially mitigating the current investor concerns. The firm has also revised its 2026 EPS projection for UnitedHealth, lowering it to $29.61 from $33.60. Despite these changes, Morgan Stanley remains optimistic that UnitedHealth can achieve at least the lower end of its long-term EPS growth targets.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast
Based on the one-year price targets offered by 25 analysts, the average target price for UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH, Financial) is $582.88 with a high estimate of $677.00 and a low estimate of $490.00. The average target implies an upside of 37.04% from the current price of $425.33. More detailed estimate data can be found on the UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH) Forecast page.
Based on the consensus recommendation from 29 brokerage firms, UnitedHealth Group Inc's (UNH, Financial) average brokerage recommendation is currently 1.8, indicating "Outperform" status. The rating scale ranges from 1 to 5, where 1 signifies Strong Buy, and 5 denotes Sell.
Based on GuruFocus estimates, the estimated GF Value for UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH, Financial) in one year is $708.61, suggesting a upside of 66.6% from the current price of $425.33. GF Value is GuruFocus' estimate of the fair value that the stock should be traded at. It is calculated based on the historical multiples the stock has traded at previously, as well as past business growth and the future estimates of the business' performance. More detailed data can be found on the UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH) Summary page.
