Overheard -- WSJ
April 17 2019 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Charley Grant
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (April 17, 2019).
Talk about a tough crowd.
Health-insurance giant UnitedHealth Group, one of the star
performers of the stock market until this year, had its usual round
of good news for investors in its first-quarter earnings results.
Adjusted net earnings of $3.73 a share grew by 23% from a year
earlier and topped analyst estimates, and the company increased its
full-year profit forecast.
Investors, however, reacted as though they got a surprise
medical bill. Shares closed down 4% on Tuesday. That was the worst
earnings-related reaction since a brief selloff in 2015, according
to FactSet. But that selloff was in reaction to disappointing
guidance, not to a clean report.
UnitedHealth shares are down nearly 10% so far in 2019, after a
decade of nearly uninterrupted gains.
Investors can successfully predict future earnings and cash
flows, but there is no predicting the mood of Mr. Market.
Write to Charley Grant at charles.grant@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 17, 2019 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024