UnitedHealth stock price.

What does UnitedHealth do?.

UnitedHealth is listed on NYSE and operates in healthcare. The largest US health insurer with a big data and services arm. Revenue comes from the core activity described above; the company reports quarterly and publishes guidance alongside it.

What moves the share price?.

The UnitedHealth share moves mainly on quarterly results, management guidance and sentiment across healthcare. Macro data from VS and the euro exchange rate matter too for European investors.

In healthcare it is all about the pipeline: approvals, patent cliffs and reimbursement decisions drive valuation.

Risks to watch.

Every share carries company-specific risk: competition, margin pressure and regulation. On top of that comes market risk, a broad correction drags good companies down too.

Numbers to watch each quarter at UnitedHealth.

At UnitedHealth every quarterly report comes down to three things: year-on-year revenue growth, the operating margin and the guidance management provides. That guidance often moves the share more than the reported numbers, because the market has been trading on an expectation for months.

Also watch free cash flow and what the company does with it: repaying debt, buying back stock, paying a dividend or investing in growth. For a company in healthcare that choice says a lot about how management sees the coming years.

UnitedHealth compared with peers.

A share price on its own says little. Put UNH next to other names in healthcare, six are listed further down this page, and compare growth, margin and valuation. A share that looks expensive can be rightly expensive when growth is structurally higher; a low valuation is often a sign the market doubts the business model.

What does this mean for a European investor?.

All amounts on this page are shown in euro. If UnitedHealth is quoted in another currency we convert at the daily rate. That also means your return has two parts: the move in the share itself and the exchange rate. A 10% gain in dollars can be materially smaller in euro when the dollar weakens at the same time.

Keep the tax side in mind too: transaction taxes, withholding on dividends and possibly source tax in the country of listing (VS). Those costs weigh more heavily the more often you trade.

How to read this page.

The top of the page shows the latest known price with the daily move. The chart below runs from one day to five years: pick a period, hover the line and you see the price at that moment. Returns per period sit in the strip below the chart.

The chart shows direction and volatility, not a forecast. Prices are indicative and may be delayed; always use your broker's data before placing an order.