Analyst Slashes UnitedHealth's Price Target, Sending Shares Tumbling

In a notable development on August 21, 2025, the stock of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) experienced a decline after an analyst from Bernstein SocGen Group made a significant adjustment to their price target for the company.

The analyst, Lance Wilkes, had previously valued UnitedHealth at as much as $594 per share. However, in his latest update, Wilkes slashed this fair value estimate to just $377 per share—a reduction of over 35%. Despite this rather drastic adjustment, Wilkes maintained his "outperform" (buy) recommendation on the stock.

According to reports, Wilkes cited several factors behind his decision to cut UnitedHealth's price target. Primarily, he expects the company's performance to remain weak through the year 2026 and has correspondingly reduced his earnings estimate and target price-to-earnings ratio for the insurer.

Additionally, Wilkes pointed to sluggish growth in UnitedHealth's key OptumHealth unit as another reason for the downward revision. This unit's performance appears to be a key concern for the analyst.

The news of the analyst's price target cut had an immediate impact on UnitedHealth's stock price. The company's shares closed the trading day on August 21, 2025, down by 1.5%, underperforming the broader S&P 500 index, which declined by 0.6%.

Investors will be closely watching to see how UnitedHealth navigates the challenges highlighted by the Bernstein SocGen analyst in the coming months and years.