Samantha LaDuc
Founder & Strategist of LaDucTrading, Cross-Asset Analysis
US healthcare and biotech stocks are coming under distribution as the attack on healthcare returns. Per Dr Alex Kenton, the No Surprises Act has knocked millions of people off insurance rolls, hurting hospitals, and a new Justice Department investigation targets Cigna, UnitedHealth and CVS over allegedly using Claritev to fix prices. x.comÂ
Managed-care insurance cash flows usually care less about AI bond yields than leveraged hyperscaler debt, making a managed-care sleeve preferable to chasing an AI bounce. UnitedHealth rose about 2.8% alongside Eli Lilly and Walmart after Deutsche Bank upgrades, while semiconductors weakened. x.comÂ
UnitedHealth, CVS and other managed-care insurers should get relief from the 2.4% Medicare payment upgrade for 2026. UnitedHealth was already the only megacap stock with a positive one-month gain. x.comÂ
US healthcare stocks look set to rise because insiders are buying at an extreme rate relative to selling. The corporate insider buy/sell ratio for the healthcare sector has spiked to its highest reading in data back to 2010, levels last seen in early 2020. After such readings, the sector rose 88% of the time over two months, 91% over six and 100% over twelve, with median returns of 9.14% at six months and 12.46% at twelve. x.comÂ
UnitedHealth's rebound still has a Medicaid problem because care costs are outpacing state funding. Q3 operating profit rose to $6.6bn from $4.3bn a year earlier, but Medicaid is still expected to lose money in 2026. x.comÂ
UnitedHealth collects ever-rising US healthcare spending, and its stock has stopped falling. Family plan costs rose 249% in two decades toward $24,000, US spending nears $10,000 a person, and the over-65 population is set to double to two billion by 2050. After earnings fell 59% and 69% in back-to-back quarters and the stock dropped from 606 to 248, it based near 250 for a year, a Weinstein Stage 1, then reclaimed its moving average and pushed above 400. x.com x.com x.com x.comÂ
Healthcare looks attractive as volatility has eased in recent weeks while inflows stay steady. Merck is the best-looking pharma play, pharma and biotech are favored, and the broad healthcare sector covers all the bases. x.comÂ
Healthcare is the clearest place money is moving, and UnitedHealth is the preferred name here. It beat earnings and raised its 2026 profit forecast. x.comÂ
UnitedHealth's collapse was driven more by fear than fundamentals, making it one of the biggest opportunities in years, reminiscent of Meta in 2022. Fraud accusations led nowhere as the DOJ dropped its investigation, and peers Humana and CVS recovered from the same cost underestimation and beat later. With over $420B in revenue and deep ties to US employers, UnitedHealth is too big to fail and could survive even a fine. That same logic pointed to Berkshire being the undisclosed buyer. x.comÂ
The healthcare sector, including Moderna, AbbVie, Johnson & Johnson and Merck, looks ready to push higher off Moderna's cancer news. x.comÂ
UnitedHealth is exposed as health insurance costs become unaffordable for employers: an industry that lives by price gouging will die by it. US employers face the largest health insurance cost hike since the Affordable Care Act began, with a 25% rise expected in 2027 after a massive drop in exchange enrollment. Employer-based health plans now look set to go the way of pensions and become extinct. x.comÂ
