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UNH.US
id: 1588
UnitedHealth ($UNH) Misleading Earnings Forecast and Public Backlash Case
Investors can submit applications for the lead plaintiff role.
S.D. New York
Court1:25-cv-03799
Case number12/03/2024
Class period Start04/16/2025
Class period End07/07/2025
Lead Plaintiff motion deadline- $UNH investors filed a claim against UnitedHealth Group for misleading earnings guidance and hiding changes in its coverage approval policies.
- After cutting 2025 guidance due to rising costs and policy shifts, $UNH dropped over 22% on April 17, 2025.
Case Details:
Between December 3, 2024, and April 16, 2025, UnitedHealth assured investors that its 2025 performance would remain strong, even as the company faced rising criticism over its claim denial practices. The company issued earnings guidance that projected up to $30.00 per share in adjusted net income and emphasized stable margins across its healthcare and insurance divisions.
But these statements were made while the company was under growing public and regulatory pressure. In October 2024, a U.S. Senate report revealed that UnitedHealth denied Medicare Advantage post-acute care requests at three times the industry average. Then in November, ProPublica published evidence showing the company used algorithms to reduce mental health reimbursements—an approach several states had already deemed illegal.
Public outrage surged in December 2024, after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was murdered in a highly publicized attack, reportedly tied to the company's denial practices. Following the event, UnitedHealth quietly began adjusting its policies to allow broader patient coverage, increasing its costs and weakening its prior profit assumptions.
Despite this, the company reaffirmed its 2025 earnings forecast in January 2025, failing to disclose that its internal strategy had already shifted to ease off the aggressive denial methods that had historically supported earnings.
On April 17, 2025, UnitedHealth finally cut its 2025 forecast by nearly $4 per share, citing a spike in healthcare utilization from Medicare Advantage patients. Analysts quickly connected the change to the company’s softer stance on prior authorizations and rising scrutiny from regulators.
$UNH dropped 22.4% on April 17, 2025, and fell another 6.3% the following day.
Based on these events, $UNH investors filed a claim against UnitedHealth, accusing the company of the following:
- It misled investors by reaffirming unrealistic guidance while quietly changing policies that directly impact costs.
- It failed to disclose the impact of regulatory pressure and public backlash tied to their coverage denial practices.
Considering all the representations, investors believe UnitedHealth concealed the financial consequences of its strategy shift to delay a market correction.
Case Status
Lead Plaintiff Submission
Alleged Offence
Misleading Statements,
Omissions
Suspected Party
Directors,
Management
Security Type
Stocks
Trade Direction
Long
Shock Event Date
04/17/2025
Filing date
05/07/2025
Lead Plaintiff Deadline
07/07/2025